Florence, Day 2: Accademia

Accademia is just half block away from Piazza Santissima Annunziata. We used our Florence Cards to get in Accademia. Even though we still had to line up for security check (20 minute wait) but we skipped the ticket line which went around the block. By the way, I highly recommend Florence Card. Without the card, you have to make a reservation to visit Accademia and Uffizi if you don’t want to spend more than one hour lining up for tickets. Making a reservation means your itinerary is not flexible and you always worry if the schedule is going to be seamless or not. 

First thing we saw was Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambologna. This one is the original. The one in the open-air sculpture gallery in Piazza della Signoria is a copy. The original seems more rustic.

Then we entered the hallway that led us to Michelangelo’s David. We could already see David at the beginning of the hallway. David was displayed in a room especially made for the statue. The presentation was top notch. The original David is majestic and massive, it’s truly a showstopper. It makes the fake ones you see throughout Florence look like toys.

In the hallway, we found Pietà by Michelangelo. Some experts doubt it was created by Michelangelo. I guess we will never know. There were also 4 Michelangelo’s Prisoners. Prisoners are those unfinished sculpture groups by Michelangelo. Of course, Michelangelo didn’t name the pieces Prisoners, the scholars did.

The Gipsoteca Bartolini, a 19th century hall, is dedicated to the sculptor Lorenzo Bartolini. There are more than 100 sculptures in this hall.

David shows confidence he can take down the giant. Michelangelo’s David is just glorious. It is clearly an icon of Renaissance. There is something magical about these finest sculptures, they appear to have souls.