Reopening of the Accademia Gallery

An itinerary that will surprise you while waiting for the end of the works in July

The Accademia Gallery reopens after a long period of closure that saw the museum engaged in major renovation works and during which more than 600 works were moved.

( video)

Visitors will be welcomed by a revolutionary, albeit temporary, exhibition itinerary: the section dedicated to Musical Instruments, a real jewel that brings together rare and unique pieces, is now directly connected, through a new opening, to the temporary exhibition rooms, where it will be possible to immerse oneself in the magic of the Renaissance, thanks to the paintings coming from the Sala del Colosso. Entering the Tribuna, where David stands, the visitor will be accompanied on his way through Michelangelo's Prigioni by Lorenzo Bartolini's plaster casts, usually kept in the Gipsoteca.

Accademia Gallery - ph Guido Gozzi

In fact, the Gipsoteca - which ideally recreates the studio of Lorenzo Bartolini, one of the most important Italian sculptors at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries - normally houses about 450 works that are usually difficult to see because they are placed on high shelves. All these busts are now grouped together in thematic areas and placed at eye level along the corridor that houses I Prigioni. This new view gives an insight into the fashion of the time, from hairstyles to clothing.

Lorenzo Bartolini, artworks - Guido Gozzi

The former Florentine rooms, usually used for temporary exhibitions, now house the paintings that were in the Sala del Colosso, which is still closed for renovation. An extraordinary collection of Florentine paintings from the 15th and early 16th centuries which, in this arrangement, thanks also to more accurate lighting, has regained all its preciousness. These include Paolo Uccello's Thebaid, the marvellous Cassone Adimari by Scheggia, brother of the much more famous Masaccio, Sandro Botticelli's Pala del Trebbio, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Lorenzo di Credi, Jacopo del Sellaio, Filippino Lippi and Mariotto Albertinelli. 

Florentine Renaissance works, ph Guido Gozzi

This display - immortalised by the splendid photographs donated to the Gallery by Massimo Sestini - is aimed at the duration of the various works that will affect both the Gipsoteca and the Sala del Colosso as well as the Byzantine rooms and the first floor. From June onwards there will be continuous openings and changes, which will lead us to the end of the works in July.

Ph Guido Gozzi