Galleria Dell'Accademia

I have to say, I was dissapointed by this museum. I went there to see the David, which was worth the trip (even though you can find replicas all over the city, the real thing is a lot better). Also liked a few of MIchelangelo’s later works which were unfinished. It was awesome to see these 3d characters which seemed to almost be pulling themselves out of a 2d world. Really awesome. Besides that though, the museum is very small and didn’t hold my interest. There is some religious art, but I prefer seeing that inside a church. There was a bit on instruments which was ok, but not mind blowing. And a special photo exhibition that didn’t interest me much either. The only other thing I liked seeing were some Russian Icons.

You can stand in line if you want, but if you buy a ticket down the road at one of the other museums, you can get an icecream, sit in the shade and laugh at the people sweating in the queue while you wait for your own timeslot.

In the winter, there is hardly anyone there when they extend the hours.

My friend and I were the only two people in the whole academy, with the David all to ourselves. It was amazing.

It was raining and dark out, and inside, it was marvelous.

Contemplar el David merece la pena pero hay una réplica exacta a pocos metros, en la entrada del Palacio de la Señoría… y así te ahorras las colas y los euros ;)

Read all that you can about what you will see before you go. The David is astounding and will make you cry if you let it. The bound slaves are revolutionary. Every bit is worth seeing, and you can appreciate it more if you know even a little.

I’d seen pictures of “David” before, but I never realised how tall the sculpture is in real life!

To take a picture and show it to someone is a crime, no picture can ever describe the majestic statue of David, a true piece of genius.

that is, if you arrive a little before the museum opens in early September. We had to wait for the museum to open, just about 20ft back from the door, while the line grew behind us and ladies tried to sell us scarves. The museum is very small. Through the main entrance are some carvings by michealangelo called the slaves as they are rough, and still mostly entrenched in the stone. Dead center is the larger than life statue of David. To the left is a room jammed full of plaster casts of statues, and when I visited, there was also an exhibit of musical instruments with the unexpected bonus of a stradivarius violin.

The amazing thing about the real statue of David…. is that it looks like he is ALIVE… that he is BREATHING… that at any moment he will step down off his pedastal and TALK to you…. you must see the REAL David in the Academmia Gallery. The replica in his original spot on the Palazzo Vecchio is exact in every detail, yet doesn’t breathe, doesn’t have life, in the way that the real David has LIFE.

The David makes it all worth it.

To see the statue of David in person is breathtaking. Pictures do NOT do this statue justice, standing in it’s shadow, with the amazing ceiling above, the whole thing was awesome. It is best to have a local tourguide explaining it, because you will learn so much more, making it even better.