Michelangelo's David - What to See in Florence, Italy

Описание

David del Michelangelo - The words in the reading are not mine – they are posted just to the right of the David at the Academia museum. See below for the text.

When we arrived in Florence, our host suggested skipping a visit to the David at the Accademia and viewing the copy in front of Palazzo Vecchio in Piazza Signoria. Having visited both, I can strongly advise the trip to the Accademia (http://www.accademia.org).

The setting, the Tribune of the Galleria, and the statue is breathtaking. The line outside the Accademia can be daunting; to bypass this queue, we had purchased the Firenzecard (http://www.firenzecard.it) before arriving. The Firenzecard includes admission to most of the primary tourist attractions (including the Uffizi, Palazzo Vecchio, the cupola of the Duomo…), but most importantly for a short visit, it provides a preferred entry point, virtually eliminating most of the queues. If you have the Firenzecard, you do not need to prebook tickets, just show up.

All photos by StevesTravelGuide/StevesBoston with the following exceptions:
The panorama of Florence from Piazalle Michalengelo is by Simon.zfn, Niabot (modification) (Image:Firenze.jpg by Simone Zuffanelli) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...)], via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
The photo of the bronze David in Piazalle Michalengelo, Beschreibung: David auf dem Platz "Piazzale Michelangelo" in Florenz, can be found on Wikimedia here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... The historic pictures of Michelangelo are public domain.

The wonderful background recording of Raymond Smullyan’s D. Scarlatti E Major Sonatas is public domain and may be found multiple places including ibiblio.org at: http://www.ibiblio.org/pandora/mp3/co...

For more information on the David and visiting the Accademia, see http://www.accademia.org/explore-muse...

“Nor has there ever been seen a pose so fluent, or a gracefulness equal to this, or feet, hands and head so well related to each other with quality, skill and design”.
With these words Giorgio Vasari attempts to define the reasons behind the marvel that the vision of David provokes in the observer. He continues by stating that the statue so far surpasses both in beauty and technique ancient and modern statuary that one needn’t bother seeing other works in sculpture.
At the end of 1501, Michelangelo obtained the permission of the Opera del Duomo to work a block of marble which had been abandoned in the courtyard of the Cathedral of Florence for the creation of the figure of the young hero, subsequently placed in front of Palazzo Vecchio in Piazza Signoria.
It has always been a subject of debate among scholars whether David is represented before or after his victory over Goliath. His sling is also barely visible as though to emphasize how David owed his victory not to brutal force, but to his intellect and to his innocence.
As soon as it was placed in front of Palazzo Vecchio, the statue became a symbol of liberty and of civic pride for the Florentine Republic. Surrounded by hostile enemies, the city identified itself with the young hero who, with the help of God, had defeated a much more powerful foe.
In 1873, Michelangelo’s statue was brought here to the Tribune of the Galleria, built expressly for it and, only in 1908, was it substituted in Piazza Signoria by the marble copy still there today. The bronze copy found in Piazzale Michelangelo overlooking Florence was done in 1866.”