The Accademia isn't a huge, mega-museum.
It doesn't need to be. It houses Michelangelo's David, and
if it did nothing else, that would be enough.
No one needs to be told about the
David, its image is everywhere in popular culture,
from refrigerator
magnets to Simpson's
episodes.
Florence is truly David's city;
a life-size copy stands in the Piazza della Signoria,
a giant-size copy presides over the Piazzale Michelangiolo,
and every souvenir vendor has dozens of smaller versions
for sale.
So why bother to spend 12,000 L and
perhaps wait in a long line just to see the original?
Listen to me: Just do it.
I can't explain what it is about this work,
the magical harmony that even the best photos cannot capture.
The fact that it was created from a block of marble
considered by other sculptors to be "useless"
and "ruined" only adds to the miracle.
To stand it its presence is to stand
in the presence of greatness.
Pieta
by Michelangelo
His unfinished works (known as "the slaves")
struggle to free themselves from the imprisoning rock. They
provide marvelous insight into the artist's creative process.
Something
Else
Despite what you might think, there are other works
of art in the Accademia. I liked the emotion and flow of
the Rape of the Sabines (Ratto delle Sabine), by Giambologna
(1582).
