It was another repercussion of failing to plan. Our time in Monte San Savino was coming to a close, Florence was next, and we were just starting to make plans. My husband, Brett, had one request for our honeymoon in Italy—to see the San Siro Stadium. I had many requests, but by far my top request was to see Michelangelo’s David. I had long admired the sculpture through photos and videos. It has always been one of my three favorite sculptures, along with Ugolino and His Sons by the French sculptor Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, and Laocoön and His Sons from Greek antiquity (a copy of which I was excited to find at the Uffizi Gallery created in the 16th century by Baccio Bandinelli).
Unfortunately, many others feel the same way about David, which we quickly discovered when we saw the dreaded SOLD OUT notice on the website of the Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze, where the original statue is displayed.
Disheartened, we looked for tickets through other sellers, but the only option was an expensive combination ticket that included the Academia which would have put us way out of our budget. Though we had already failed at traveling “cheap” in Milan, we were trying to recover for the remainder of our trip, as Florence was only the third stop of four. So we decided against the Accademia, opting for walking tours and low cost museum visits.
Once in Florence, we were overwhelmed by the art and sculpture around every corner and found that there was much to explore simply by walking. But in the Piazza della Signoria, we found reconciliation for our lack of planning in the David replica that stands on the eastern portion of the piazza. Though there are many replicas of Michelangelo’s David masterpiece, the one in Piazza della Signoria is the most prominent because of what it replaced.
From the time of its completion until 1873, the original David stood in that very piazza. Originally intended to be lifted onto the roof of the Duomo, commissioners quickly realized the height and weight made that impossible and could put the sculpture at risk. They instead displayed it outside the entrance of the Palazzo Vecchio, then the city’s town hall. Guards were stationed to protect it, though not always successfully, as some 15th-century vandalisms proved. But it was time, not vandals, that would eventually cause the most damage. By the early 1800s, cracks were beginning to appear in David’s leg. The massive sculpture was slowly moved across the city, a journey that took over ten days. More than 30 years later, a replica was installed in its original location to once again be admired by the people of Florence.
One evening, on our walk back to our Airbnb in Florence, we unintentionally passed by the Galleria dell’Accademia. In my heart of hearts, there was a twinge of doubt that perhaps we had missed out on a great opportunity. But then we caught a glimpse of the hoards waiting in line outside and cramming themselves into the main corridor. I imagined the original, standing at an impressive 17 feet tall, flanked by other masterpieces and at its feet, floods of tourists vying for an up close and personal moment with the prolific figure. In that moment, neither of us regretted not seeing the original David.
We can’t verify this with our own experience, but we heard from a tour guide that though the piazza replica is slightly smaller, the effect of its grandeur is the same. One might think that the imposing statute would be dwarfed by the towering structures of the piazza. On the contrary, it commanded the space in which it stood.
And what better way to see David than where he originally stood—unadorned by special treatment, amongst the people, for the people, as it was intended? The replica, to me, fulfills that original intent. The sculpture was commissioned to sit atop a church as a symbol of Florence and its mighty struggle. They were the underdog, having just overturned the Medici reign and begun a new season. David, in the mind of the Florentines, was a symbol of the people, not the elite. Even in their choice of artist, they selected a little-known young sculptor, disliked by others for having been chosen by the committee.
So it makes sense that David should still stand in the piazza for all to enjoy freely, surrounded by the other dozen or so sculptures. To sit amongst giants from antiquity and the Renaissance without having to pay a dime—this is Florence at its finest.
The juxtaposition was striking: eating a fresh mozzarella sandwich on focaccia, wrapped in baker’s paper, while sitting on stone steps smoothed by millions of feet, surrounded by sculptures painstakingly chiseled from marble. It silenced everything inside of me as I experienced the natural weight of centuries-old craftsmanship.
Interestingly, I took neither video nor photo of the David in the Piazza della Signoria, nor of the surrounding sculptures. It was enough to sit amongst them and imagine that four hundred years ago, people were doing the same—talking, meeting, reminiscing, admiring, and seeing something beyond the marble.
I’ve heard it said that today most of the world is “time-poor”—pulled in every direction, flooded with endless opportunity and distraction. Devoting ourselves fully to one thing now requires immense self-discipline and a strong sense of purpose. In light of that, and having seen the same tendency in my own life, the time it took to carve those sculptures—and the time it took to develop the skill in the first place—is perhaps the most impressive thing of all. It’s also the most convicting. How am I spending my time? Is it focused? Is it worthy? Or is it baseless and distracting?
So, is David worth seeing? I wouldn’t know. But I can tell you this: standing in the piazza, with a fresh mozz sandwich in hand and centuries of history at my feet, felt like the truest Florentine experience of all.
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