The Accademia Gallery is one of the most popular Florence Art Galleries, having a stunning Renaissance collection of sculptures and paintings.
It also has a one-of-a-kind musical instruments collection and is the center to house many temporary contemporary art exhibitions.
It can take at least 2 hours to see the whole space, but this might not be convenient for all visitors who want to extend their trip to the Uffizi Gallery or other major attractions.
In this article, you’ll find an easy-to-follow itinerary to help you cover the most popular gallery rooms in an hour!
Begin exploring at the Gallery of Prisoners
The Gallery is made up of seven display galleries covering two floors, which are easy to navigate with the help of a map.
We’ll begin exploring the famous Gallery of Slaves, which you can quickly get to by taking a left from the entrance followed by the first right.
The gallery is lined with four sculptures: the Atlas Slave, the Rebellious Slave, the Young Slave, and the Bearded Slave.
These sculptures are around 3 meters tall and showcase humanity’s struggle for freedom as they try to break free from the surrounding marble.
Along the walls of this corridor are paintings by Ghirlandiao, Fra Bartholomew, and Andrea del Sarto.
The famous painting of Venus and Cupid by Pontormo, also known as Jacopo Carcucci, inspired by Michelangelo’s drawing, is also on display in this room!
We recommend beginning from this gallery area as it is pretty crowded, since at the end of this corridor is the famous David sculpture by Michelangelo!
Walk on to the Famous Michelangelo’s David in the Tribune Hall
If you keep walking straight from the Gallery of Prisoners, you will get to Michelangelo’s famous 17-foot-tall David sculpture!
It stands at the center of the Tribune, and the hall’s walls are lined with magnificent paintings.
Most visitors leave the gallery after admiring David’s sculpture from all angles, but we also recommend looking at the paintings!
You can see the stunning Madonna and Child with the Young St. John and an Angel painting on the right.
Francesco Salviati was inspired by Michelangelo’s drawing and painted a masterpiece with bright colors and a loving composition.
You should also see the Deposition painting by Santi di Tito on the left and other beautiful right-side paintings by Alessandro Allori!
Explore the Gipsoteca Gallery
The only way to enter the Gipsoteca or the Plaster Cast Gallery is through the left doorway of the Tribune.
The Gallery is lined with the most stunning display of 19th-century plaster sculptures from Lorenzo Bartolini’s studio!
The most famous sculpture in this gallery is usually missed as it is a small plaster cast showpiece of a boy playing with a dog.
Animal lovers enjoy admiring the life-like sculpture of a fluffy dog and a small bright child with happy eyes patting his head.
Another must-see piece in the gallery is the Pontormo fresco painting from 1514, which used a pigment rich in iron, which gives it a greenish hue.
It depicts the regular hospital scene with nurses tending to the ill, as the painting was previously on display in the St. Matthew Hospital’s women’s ward.
Pause at the Temporary Exhibitions
Before you move on, we recommend peeping into the temporary exhibition area directly opposite the Gipsoteca Gallery entrance.
Unique exhibitions based on ancient and contemporary artists and their techniques are organized in this area.
The gallery has held past exhibitions of paintings by Francesco Foschi and has had displays of some fun images of sculptures like David!
We recommend going to the gallery’s official website and seeing if you’re interested in what is currently on display in this section.
This way, you can skip the area entirely and spend the time in another space!
Admire the Colossus Hall
A small corridor from the Temporary Exhibitions gallery will get you directly to the Colossus Hall.
The Hall of the Colossus’s walls are lined with paintings, at the center of which stands the marvelous Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambologna.
Its composition follows a snakelike spiral movement, showing a woman trying to escape from her captor as a young man at the base tries to save her.
This powerful and emotional painting draws the eyes of all visitors exploring the gallery for its uncomfortable scene.
Visitors are usually so absorbed by this artwork that they forget to spend time looking at the religious paintings surrounding it.
If you’re on a time crunch and can’t see all the art, you must at least see the Cassona Adimari painting of a Florentine Renaissance wedding celebration feast.
This landscape painting shows a glimpse into the history of Florence, with its ancient streets, monuments, and costumes!
One of the largest paintings in the room is the Assumption of Mary by Pietro Perugino.
At the center of the painting is Mother Mary ascending to Heaven with the angels welcoming her above and the saints bidding farewell from the land below.
It is easy to lose time in this room since it is packed with so many artworks, so we recommend an Accademia Gallery Guided Tour so you can stay on track!
The Musician’s Musical Instruments Hall is your next stop!
One of the rooms music and opera lovers should definitely visit inside the Accademia Gallery of Florence is the unique Hall of Musical Instruments!
An ancient collection of over 50 wind, string, and other instruments preserved from the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory is on display here.
It can be challenging to see all in one hour.
You must see the first pianoforte constructed by Bartolomeo Cristofori for Grand Prince Ferdinand Medici in 1688!
Prince Ferdinand’s grand Viola by Antonio Stradivari is also on display, a one-of-a-kind piece with the emblem of the Medici family on its body.
The hall is also decorated with paintings of the famous musicians who played for the Medici family.
Explore the first floor’s Florentine Paintings!
Before climbing to the first floor, we recommend seeing the famous Tree of Life painting at Pacino di Buonaguida next to the library.
If this room is crowded, take the elevator and move to the first level of the Galleria dell Accademia.
The first level is the least crowded part of the gallery, having a stunning painting display of artworks from Florence between 1370 and 1430.
Jacopo di Cione’s Massacre of the Innocents painting is the must-see artwork on the floor, showing the heartbreaking scenes of mothers trying to protect their kids.
The main hall on the floor has some large Florentine guild paintings with Gothic architecture-like decorations.
The most complex of these pieces is the grand depiction of the Annunciation with the Blessing Father!
The painting is covered in portraits of Saints, each made known with their symbolic objects, like St Peter with a cross, St John the Baptist with Camel fur, and much more.
The Hall of the International Gothic is also a part of this gallery, housing the Madonna and the Child with Saints and some other marvelous paintings!
You can also see stunning Gothic architectural elements in the International Gothic Hall.
End your day by buying a book souvenir to take home!
Art students and tourists can buy an informative book from the bookshop to take back home as a souvenir before leaving the gallery!
After reading it, you can pass the book to your family and friends and keep it as a memorial for years.
FAQs on Accademia Gallery Itinerary
1. Which is the most crowded room of the Accademia Gallery?
The Tribune Hall is the most crowded area in the gallery since Michelangelo’s David statue stands here.
2. Do I need tickets to explore the Gallery?
You need Accademia Gallery tickets to explore.
3. What is the best time of the day to explore the Gallery?
The Gallery is least crowded from 8.15 am to 9 am. You can also find fewer crowds in the afternoon time.
4. Which room is the least crowded in the Galleria dell Accademia?
The first floor of the Gallery is the least crowded area and a must-see.
5. From which room should I begin exploring the gallery?
We recommend beginning from the Gallery of Prisoners since it leads directly to Michelangelo’s David Tribune Hall. This space gets crowded very quickly.
6. Can I explore the Accademia Gallery in 2 hours?
You can easily explore the entire Accademia Gallery in two hours.
7. Which are the most famous rooms of the Accademia Gallery in Florence?
Tribune Hall, The Gallery of Prisoners, the Hall of Musical Instruments, and the Hall of Colossus are the most famous rooms.
Featured Image: CNN.com