The Galleria dell'Accademia is one of the essential visits in Florence, mainly because this is where you will find the famous statue of David by Michelangelo. 

And precisely because of this sculpture tourists form lengthy queues to enter the museum, so, to begin with, we recommend patience. In addition, many students crowd around David to copy and study the work, which has direct links to the origins of the Galleria. Originally this place formed part of the Academy of Fine Arts, founded in 1563 by Cosimo I as the world's first art school. Later, in 1784, the Grand Duke Leopold created the Galleria dell'Accademia in order to house works of art so that students could examine them. 

Anyhow, let's focus on David. This famous statue was created by Michelangelo in 1501 after other sculptors had rejected the project, claiming that the marble, brought especially from Carrara, was not of sufficient quality. However, Michelangelo accepted the challenge and created this beautiful image of David, the young man who defeated the giant Goliath, an allegory of the liberation of Florence from the yoke of the Medici and Savonarola.

If you wonder why the hands and the head of the sculpture are proportionally outsized, which is attributed to the fact that it was originally designed to be located abroad, and these distortions increased its monumental character. Its precise location was the subject of much debate at the time, and once the work had been finished a committee composed of the great artists of the moment was formed in order to decide its fate. After much deliberation it was decided to place it in the Piazza della Signoria, where it remained until 1873, when it was moved to the Galleria. 

Visitors should bear in mind, however, that, in addition to David, the museum also houses other important pieces such as the four "Slaves", also by Michelangelo, and works by other artists such as Botticelli, Perugino and Filippino Lippi.