The Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze, or "Gallery of the Academy of Florence", is an art museum in Florence, Italy and is best known as the home of Michelangelo's sculpture David. It also has other sculptures by Michelangelo and a large collection of paintings by Florentine artists, mostly from the period 1300-1600, the Trecento to the Late Renaissance.
It is smaller and more specialized than the Uffizi, the main art museum in Florence. It adjoins the Accademia di Belle Arti or academy of fine arts of Florence, but despite the name has no other connection with it.
The locally qualified guide will introduce you to this museum revealing all the secrets about David, and the other masterpieces hosted in it. After that quick detour, the guide will lead you to the Hall of the Colossus to see the works of art of Giambologna’s “Rape of the Sabines”, Cassone Adimari, Domenico Ghirlandaio’s solemn “St. Stephen between St. James and St. Peter”, then onto the main Hall of the Prisoners to learn more about the unfinished statues by Michelangelo “Slaves”, and the friendship and mutual influence with artist like Fra’ Bartolomeo, Pontormo, Granacci, etc..
Later, the guide will spend time at The Tribune, sharing all the information of the world-famous statue of Michelangelo “David's Statue” and the Tribune Left Wing "Allori’s Coronation of the Virgin Mary".
Finally, the guide will also introduce you to the Gipsoteca Bartolini the plaster casts of the Reclining Venus, Arnolfo, Brunelleschi and Lorenzo Monaco, Documentation center on the first floor.
The tour takes about an hour, the perfect amount to see the highlights inside the museum without feeling overwhelmed. You can also return to anything you might want to see again, including the David, after the tour ends.
Via Ricasoli, 51 (Accademy - Front of Ticketing Office)