A Date with David: the Academy Gallery Reopens

Beginning June 2, Republic Day in Italy (Festa della Repubblica), the Academy Gallery will reopen its doors to visitors. Florentines will still be able to view Michelangelo’s “David,” but with the reopening comes new adjustments and regulations to the museum.

Perhaps most noteworthy, the ticket price will drop from 12 euros to 8, and visitors will be able  to download a new app called “The Right Distance.”  This app, created by Opera Laboratori Fiorentini and available on both iOS and Android products, uses bluetooth technology to turn the smartphone into a security tool, causing a vibration when it senses the distance between its owner and other visitors falls below the threshold of one and a half meters. In addition to this safety measure, the museum will be able to host a maximum of 50 people at once, all of whom must follow a one-way route. 

Although guests are excited for the gallery’s reopening, it will not look the same. Some rooms will remain closed to the public. Despite this, director Cecilie Hollberg announced that the museum will reopen with a new ventilation system, installed on May 29, which has actually been in the works over the past couple years. The director went on to say that the Academy is almost a new museum given the addition of the ventilation system in addition to new entrances and exits and the strict one-way path for visitors. 

All visitors will be required to have their temperature taken at each entrance and if their recorded temperature is above 37.5 degrees Celsius, they will not be allowed into the building. Everyone will also be required to uphold certain hygiene practices to ensure safety. Accademia staff will install dispensers so visitors may sanitize their hands. Masks and disposable gloves are also mandatory, as well as maintaining an interpersonal distance of at least one and a half meters (5 ft.).

Florence mayor Dario Nardella expressed his pride that the gallery is reintroducing culture and the arts back into the heart of Florence, despite the challenges and suffering the city has experienced over the past months. The Academy is one of the first museums to celebrate this new Renaissance, post pandemic.

New opening hours at the Academy are from 9 am to 2 pm Tuesdays through Fridays, 9 am  to 6 pm on Saturday and Sunday, closed on Mondays. The last admission will be granted 30 minutes before closing. Reservations are encouraged, although not required.  (elizabeth berry)

For more information, visit the Academy’s website here.