Queuing for David

Having tried, and failed, to reserve tickets on-line last night for the Accademia, we were in the queue early this morning (8.50am) to buy tickets. Not early enough, it would seem (they open at 8.15am) as we were in the queue for the next TWO HOURS and FORTY MINUTES. (When we got to the front of the queue we were told that for people joining the queue at that time, the wait was four hours).

We had totally under-estimated the demand. It appears to be the most popular sight in Florence. I notice on the Accademia website that bookings are now being taken for 22 April – two weeks away.

Was it worth it, yes. David is sufficiently elevated for everyone to see, and it was great to see the original after having seen several copies. Again, we used a Rick Steves’ audio guide.

Apparently, unlike other sculptors, Michelangelo would just start chipping away at a piece of marble without planning or marking out beforehand.

The energy in his work can be seen in a number of unfinished pieces dubbed ‘The Prisoners’.

The ‘Prisoners’ were designed for the tomb of Pope Julius II (he who commissioned the ceiling for the Sistine Chapel) but someone must have come up with a different idea, and they were not wanted after all.

Also in the Museum is a hall of plaster statues, made by students of the Accademia, together with a couple of films explaining the different methods of making plaster casts.

Music has a place in the Accademia too, with a collection of antique musical instruments, including the world’s first pianoforte.

Previous to the invention of the pianoforte, the harpsichord had been the instrument of choice, which worked by plucking strings. In a pianoforte, the strings are not plucked, but hammered. This means that each note can either be played softly (piano) or hard (forte).

While in the lengthy queue to get in, we got talking to a teacher with a group of Flemish sixth form students. The teacher has been bringing groups to Florence for 25 years, but he is now thinking of avoiding Florence in the future as the system for reserving tickets has deteriorated of recent and the cost of tickets for young people has increased so much that the trip is becoming non-viable. He commented that Florence is the worst Italian city for tourists in this respect. I wonder if Florence has got too popular for it’s own good, rather like Venice.