Michelangelo: A Portrait A Journey into the Heart of the Man and the Artist
Duration: 2:30 hours
On foot
Accessible to people with disabilities but with many uphills
Tickets are extra, we will buy them and they are NO REFUNDABLE
What's included in the tour:
Private tour guide
Priority access to the museum
Headphones for parties of more than 6 people
Customized itinerary
Full assistance during the tour
Discover the Galleria dell’Accademia and the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo with Guided Florence Tours
This tour takes us into the heart of Michelangelo through two of his most iconic works: David and the Pietà Bandini.
Two sculptures, two opposite moments in life: the young artist challenging marble with youthful energy and the aging master confronting fragility and mortality.
David is a public work, a symbol of strength and ideals, while the Pietà Bandini is a private work, a silent dialogue of a man with his own end.
This tour is not just a journey into art but an immersion into Michelangelo’s life. From the young sculptor pushing technical boundaries to create perfection, to the mature man reflecting on his own mortality.
Two masterpieces, two portraits of the soul of an immortal genius.
What to expect
The tour begins at the Galleria dell’Accademia, where you will admire the celebrated David, a symbol of strength and ideal beauty, along with the Prisoners, unfinished sculptures that seem to emerge from the stone, testifying to Michelangelo’s tormented genius.
At just 26 years old, Michelangelo sculpted a biblical hero embodying intelligence and determination: David is not depicted in the moment of victory but in the moment of concentration before battle. His fierce gaze, tense muscles, and perfectly proportioned body celebrate the
Renaissance ideal of man as master of his own destiny.
Vasari, the first great art historian, wrote that David was “so perfect that anyone who sees it no longer needs to admire other statues.”
The journey continues at the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, where you will mainly admire the Pietà Bandini.
Fifty years after sculpting David, Michelangelo returned to marble with a new awareness. The Pietà Bandini is the work of a man who now feels the weight of years and life. Unlike the youthful Pietà in St. Peter’s Basilica, this composition is more tormented: Christ’s body is held with difficulty, and the figures intertwine in a painful embrace.
Michelangelo portrayed himself in the work, in the face of Nicodemus, the figure supporting Christ, almost representing his own meditation on death and salvation.
History of David and the Pietà Bandini
David, sculpted between 1501 and 1504, is the icon of perfection and power. Michelangelo was
only twenty-six when he was commissioned to transform a gigantic block of marble, already
discarded by other artists, into a masterpiece. The statue was initially intended for placement on
the Florence Cathedral, but its beauty was so extraordinary that it was instead placed in Piazza
della Signoria, becoming a symbol of the Florentine Republic.
The Pietà Bandini, sculpted between 1547 and 1555, is one of Michelangelo’s most intimate and emotional works. Originally intended for his own tomb, the sculpture reflects his tormented relationship with death and spirituality. The group depicts Christ supported by Nicodemus, the Virgin Mary, and Mary Magdalene in a dramatic and fragmented composition, expressing a profound sense of sorrow. Dissatisfied with the result, Michelangelo struck the work with a hammer, leaving it unfinished. Today the sculpture stands as a testament to the human and fragile side of the great master.
Photo testimonials
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