Michelangelo's David in the Tribuna
within Accademia Gallery in Florence, Italy
Photo by: Rico Heil, Creative Commons
The Accademia Gallery is located in Florence, Italy and it is also known as “Art of Drawing” academy and was the first drawing academy in Europe. The Accademia Gallery contains one of the world’s most famous art collections and is said to be world’s oldest museum. The major attraction at the Accademia Gallery is the Statue of David, which was sculpted by Michelangelo (a famous Italian poet, architect and painter).
History
The gallery was built in 1561 by Cosimo I (the founder of the Medici Empire). The galleries architecture was designed by Giorgio Vasari, (a famous Italian architect and painter), Agnolo Bronzino (an Italian painter), and by Bartolommeo Ammaannati (a sculptor and architect from Florence). The academy meetings were held in Santissima Annunziata church. A rule was established that the Accademia members should only be male, but later Artemisia Gentileschi became the first woman who got the membership and invited by the Accademia indicating the growing respect toward women.
The Accademia gallery collections
The important pictures on display here mostly belong to 14th and 15th centuries and mostly include works of Paolo Uccello, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Sandro Botticelli and Andrea del Sarto. Michelangelo’s the statue of David, as stated before, is located here along with the unfinished statue of Saint Mathew. Another major attraction at the Accademia Gallery is the Pieta Statue (Mary holding the dead body of Jesus Christ).
The Gallery also contains the writings of several Russian emperors, who belong to Habsburg Lorraine Dynasty. These collections are displayed on the gallery steps. There are a large number of structures kept in the 11 rooms of the gallery. They are listed below
•Tribuna Del David
•Sala del Colosso
•Galleria dei Prigioni
•Sala degli Orcagna
•Sala del Gotico Internazionale
•Sala di Lorenzo Monaco
•Sala del Tardo Trecento
•Sala di Giovanni da Milano
•Salone dell Ottocento
•Sala dei Giotteschi
•Sala del Duecento e del primo Trecento
Traveling to the Accademia Gallery
Traveling to the Accademia Gallery is very easy. Florence is very well connected to other places by every means of transport. You can even arange to go on tours organized by several travel agencies.
The gallery opens at 8:15 am and closes at 6:50 pm, but it remains closed on Mondays. The entry fee is somewhere between 6 to 50 Euros. Visiting the Accademia Gallery would be a highly rewarding experience because it is a place where different traditions and cultures from different countries can be seen.