Michelangelo’s Birthday & the ‘Friends of David’

Michelangelo Buonarotti’s birthday anniversary — his 542nd — on March 6 is being celebrated in a very special way this year. Those who become a member of the brand new “Friends of David” club at the Accademia Gallery will be able to raise a glass to his most famous work amidst many other brilliant pieces.

For 150 guests, the kick off celebrations on this special night will include the possibility of wandering the museum at their leisure, the chance to follow a guided tour of the temporary exhibition of late-gothic painter Giovanni dal Ponte, and seeing the famous Gipsoteca, a “hall of models” filled with life size plaster works by famous Romantic sculptor Lorenzo Bartolini

“Even before arriving in Florence” – says museum director Cecilie Hollberg – “I was surprised to learn that a friends of the museum association didn’t already exist, which was strange for an institution of this caliber and international acclaim…this is why l’Associazione degli Amici was established.”  Hollberg added that she, Fausto Calderai (the President of the new association) and a group of passionate supporters are ready to move the museum “towards a new future we can all share.”

According to the director, the “Friends of David” will facilitate the creation of lasting ties with local Florentines, visiting Italians, and the myriad of international tourists “who adore the museum.” Hollenberg thought of creating a program that would extend beyond of Florence, to sustain the importance of gallery’s vast collection.

Even the logo, designed by Neri Torrigiani, expresses the emphatic nature of the Accademia’s striking sculpture collection and the love they have for their visitors: the logo’s rectangle has the proportions of Michelangelo’s original block of marble, with a red heart positioned exactly over David’s would-be left pectoral.

The new “Friends of David” program offers three different memberships: “Socio” for €100 euros a year, “Aderente” priced at €50 euro, and a special “Under 28” option for only €30 euro a year. The membership includes a series of benefits such as free entrance upon arrival every day of the year, a 15% discount at the Accademia’s bookshop, the possibility to organize private visits, and invites to special museum events. “Socio” members can even enter for free with one guest on their birthday.

By creating a level of membership affordable to the younger generation, the museum hopes to extend their reach to the thousands of students, American and European alike, who visit Florence and the surrounding towns each year, hoping to get a newer and younger audience excited about the rich culture Florence has to offer.

For more information and to reserve a spot for March 6 event email info@friendsofdavid.org, by March 2.   (tessa lucia debole)