Academy Gallery or Galleria dell’ Accademia, Florence
Any art and culture lover can spend weeks if not months visiting the approximate six hundred well known and little known art galleries and museums in Florence. If you want to see Michelangelo’s original David and many other masterpieces especially by Botticelli and others you have to visit Academmia Gallery in Florence.
Academy Gallery in Florence is one among the most famous museums and art galleries worldwide. Its’ entire collection is housed in a historic building which has subsequently been enlarged to house the growing collection of sculptures, painting and many art and artifacts including Medici musical instruments.
In 1784 Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo united all the Florentine artists and many major art works under one roof called the Academy. Thus the Academmia Gallery came into existence.
Academmia Gallery has always exhibited famous artists’ masterpieces. In fact the stunning Primavera by Sandro Bottlicelli was a major attraction till it went to the Uffizi Gallery. However from 1873, when Michelangelo’s original David was shifted from Piazza della Signoria to Academy Gallery it was definitely a coup for the gallery. You can also find the Prisoners and St. Matthew at the gallery.
Through the years Academmia Gallery has been acquiring masterpieces from other galleries and also losing some to the other galleries. Yet it has been maintaining such high standards that you can’t leave Florence without at least one visit.
To do complete justice to the Academy Gallery you have to spend at least the entire day there. I can tell you about a few paintings and sculptures which you should not miss seeing when you visit the Academy Gallery, Florence.
Sandro Bottlicelli rates high on the list. Two of his masterpieces at the Academy Gallery include “Madonna of the Sea and “The Virgin and Child with Two Angels and the Young saint John the Baptist. There are beautiful miniatures depicting St. Francis by Agnolo Gaddi. You can also see Pontormo’s “Daily Life in the Hospital.”
Academy Gallery has masterpieces from the mid thirteenth century to the late sixteenth century. The museum keeps acquiring works and has added a few nineteenth century sculptures including works of Luigi Pampoloni and Lorenzo Bartolini. There are also a few icons from Russia. The museum of musical instruments is also growing and has much to offer.
We would be happy to arrange your visit to any of Florence’s museums if you wish.