 Introduzione
The spacious rooms of the hospital of St Matthew near the former church of San Matteo house the Academy, the Galleria dell'Accademia, founded in 1784 as a school for artists by Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo I of Lorraine. Together with Florence's other famous art galleries it contains important works of the Florentine school from the 13th to the 16th century. The Gallery's main claim to fame, however, is its outstanding collection of works by Michelangelo that came into the Academy's possession in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Gallery of the Accademia di Belle Arti has housed the original David of Michelangelo since 1873.
 History
The Accademia dell'Arte del Disegno (Academy of the Art of Design) is an art academy in Florence, Italy. It was the first academy of drawing in Europe. It was founded in 1561 with high patronage of the Medici by Giorgio Vasari, Agnolo Bronzino and Bartolommeo Ammannati, three of the central artists of Mannerism. At first the academy met in the cloisters of the Church of the Santissima Annunziata.
Pietro Leopoldo, Grand Duke of Tuscany, decreed in 1784 that all the schools of drawing in Florence be combined under one roof, under the direction of the Accademia, now renamed Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze (Academy of Fine Arts, Florence) and that it was to contain a gallery of paintings by old masters to help the studies of the young artists. The Accademia, and the adjoining Gallery still occupy the premises that were assigned in via Ricasoli, a former convent and hospice. The Grand Duke also decided to include among the arts protected in this way, a conservatory of music (the Cherubini Conservatory) and, more extraordinary, a school of art restoration (the Opificio delle Pietre Dure).
 Location
Address: Via Ricasoli 58-60, 50122 Firenze
Transit: Bus: 1, 6, 7, 10, 11, 15, 17, 20, 25.
 Michelangelo's David
Of all Michelangelo's sculpture his David takes pride of place. In 1873 the Florentines installed it here after removing it from its original setting in the Piazza della Signoria to protect him from the ravages of the weather (traces of which are still visible), and putting a copy in its place. After a visitor destroyed one of the figure's toes in September 1991 with a hammer the sculpture now has to be viewed behind glass.
 Galleria del David
The Accademia is the one place, above all others, where it is possible closely to follow Michelangelo's creative process as a sculptor. In the Galleria del David can be found the four unfinished figures of the Slaves that Michelangelo planned for the tomb of Pope Julius II in Rome. Between 1519 and 1536 he worked on six statues in all but was unable to complete them. After his death they were set up in the Giardino di Boboli, which is why they are also known as the Boboli Slaves. In 1909 four of these figures came to the Accademia, the waking slave, the bearded slave, boy and Atlas: the other two are in Paris in the Louvre.
Also unfinished is the figure of St Matthew, sculpted by Michelangelo in 1505/1506. With eleven other statues of apostles, which were not even begun, it was intended for Florence Cathedral. The block of marble is distinctly flatter than those of the Slaves, as the statue was intended to be viewed from the front.
A certain lack of balance in the Pieta di Palestrina in this hall has of late caused doubt to be cast on whether this piece is actually by Michelangelo. It may possibly have been carried out by one of his followers under his direction.
 Sale Bizantine
The Byzantine Rooms house the oldest works in the Academy collection, dating from the late 13th and the 14th centuries. The first room has one of the museum's most important works, Pacino di Bonaguida's Tree of Life (ca. 1310). It shows Christ's Crucifixion on a tree with twelve branches, and below it Genesis from Man's Creation to his expulsion from Eden, and above the Heavenly Host, saints, Christ and the Virgin Mary. The second and third Byzantine rooms contain works by artists including Taddeo Gaddi, one of the major artists of the 14th century.
 Sale Fiorentine
The three Florentine Rooms hold 15th century works of art. The first room contains the Adimari Chest, with a grand wedding procession on the front. Clothes were kept in this type of long chest in the 15th century. The highlight of the second room is a Madonna by Sandro Boticelli, from soon after 1470, and there is another work attributed to Boticelli in the third room, the Madonna del Mare, from around 1470, which with its gentler appearance and softer outlines, shows marked differences from the Madonna in the previous room.
 Salone del Colosso
The Salone del Colosso contains Florentine works of art of the early 16th century by, amongst others, Perugino, Filippino Lippi and Fra Bartolomeo della Porta, as well as an original plaster version of Giambologna's Rape of the Sabine.
 Salone delle Toscane
The Tuscany Room has 19th century works by members of the Accademia delle Belle Arti, together with the plaster casts by Lorenzo Bartolini (1777-1850) and Luigi Pampaloni (1791-1847) for their subsequent sculpture in marble.
 Useful information
Telephone: 055 2388612
Email: galleriaaccademia@polomuseale.firenze.it
Open: 8:15-18:50 Tuesday to Sunday
Closed: Every Monday
New Year's Day (January 1)
May Day / Labor Day (May 1)
Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Disabled: Full facilities for persons with disabilities.
 Utili
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