Florence: Guided Tour of the Accademia Gallery and David

An entrance to Accademia Gallery is through the first room, known as the Hall of the Colossus.

One of the most important pieces of art within this room is the stunning sculpture titled Rape of the Sabine Women, made by French artist Giambologna, which is also one of the earliest examples of an artwork sculpted completely in the round.

The Hall of the Colossus also houses many other stunning works of art, including several from the early 1400s with gilded paintings and two highly detailed Madonna paintings created by Sandro Botticelli.

After visiting the prior display, next, we will take a left turn to enter into another wing of the museum where the collection at that location is referred to as the “MUSEO DEGLI STRUMENTI MUSICALI” (Museum of Musical Instruments).

In this room, you will see an enormous assortment of different types of authentic works of art from ancient to modern, such as the viola, violin, or cello; all of which belonged to members of the Medici ruling family of Florence and their heirs, the Lorraine.

You will also see two (2) unique instruments that were created by one of the most famous Italian violins of his time, called Antonio Stradivari.

The next room has the first prototypes of the modern-day piano also known by its Italian name “Oval Spinet” and made by Bartolomeo Cristofori; who was the Master Maker for the Medici family, at this time.

We will move forward from the Music wing into the area that is opposite this wing, frequently referred to as the Michelangelo Museum.

Upon entering this large hall you will find the amazing statue of David standing on its pedestal, but before we get there we will stop and look at the famous sculptural group called "I Prigioni", which Michelangelo made for Pope Julius II.

This artwork is also a superb example of Michelangelo's non-finito style.

We will start our journey by exploring Michelangelo’s Barberini Pietà to learn more about how Michelangelo developed over his career and the evolution of his "style" and the types of "interest" of subjects ("content") that he captured throughout his artistic life; after we know this about Michelangelo, we can then go back and create a version of David, which is Michelangelo's most popular sculpture.

After we have completed our analysis of the different artistic styles and themes present in the collection, we will head over to the beautiful Sala dei Gessi (Plaster Room).

This room contains two of the finest works done by two of Italy's most recognized artists, Lorenzo Bartolini and Luigi Pampaloni.

There is also a huge collection of statues representing various important figures throughout history.

There is also a video showing how they are able to create such detailed and elaborate pieces with plaster.

Our tour will conclude in the Giotteschi rooms where we will view Bonaguida's Tree of Life (14th century Florentine artist).

This amazing medieval artwork tells a story about the path to finding the way to get salvation from God, therefore showing us visually what the steps are to reach personal salvation!