Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence

The Galleria dell'Accademia is an art museum whose most famous resident is Michelangelo’s David. [The museum houses Michelangelo’s David and other sculptures by him.] The statue has been here since 1873, after its removal from an outdoor setting in Piazza della Signoria.

[The original David has been housed here since 1873.] Its presence shaped the museum’s purpose: a dedicated Michelangelo collection was planned around the sculpture, and the unfinished Prisoners and Saint Matthew remain among the works displayed. [The original plan was to create a museum devoted to Michelangelo.]

Look through the gallery toward the figures emerging from rough stone; their incomplete surfaces make the sculptor’s process part of what you see. The collection also brings together Florentine paintings dating mainly from 1300 to 1600, with works by Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Uccello and del Sarto. [The museum holds a substantial group of Florentine paintings, chiefly from 1300 to 1600.]

Its story begins in 1784, when Pietro Leopoldo founded it. [Pietro Leopoldo founded the gallery in 1784.] A musical-instrument collection joined the museum in 2001, including instruments associated with Stradivarius, Amati and Cristofori. [A musical-instrument collection opened in 2001.]