Meeting David

For those of you that might not be aware, Florence has a very famous resident.  Michelangelo's famous sculpture of the Old Testament shepherd boy, giant slayer turned king is probably one of the most acclaimed pieces of art in the world.  One of the first things almost everyone told me when I informed them that I would be studying in Florence was how impressive David was and that I had to go see him for myself.  Each person said the same thing about David- you just don't really understand how impressive he is until you meet him in person.  Sure, there are several nice replicas in different parts of the city and you can see how much the Italians, especially the Florentines, value and appreciate him because he is simply everywhere- little figurines, calendars, key chains, magnets, dishware, clothing, even other pieces of art bear his image, or at least part of it (if you follow what I mean..).  

David is simply in the heart of everyone who meets him.  David was created during a rather tumultuous period in Florence's history.  The Medici, the ruling family of the city-state, had been exiled and Florence was faced with powerful rivals on all sides.  To the people of Florence, he came to be seen as a protector and stood for the defense of their civil liberties as the independent city-state of the Florentine Republic.  He was originally placed in the Piazza della Signoria, where the seat of civic government was and was faced toward Rome.

We were told a story upon arriving in Florence about David during WWII.  When the Americans were given the order to bomb all the major cities in Italy, the pilot in charge could not bear to bomb the city center of Florence because he knew that this was the home of David, as well as many other pieces of timeless and priceless works of art.  How accurate this story actually is is up for debate, but it can not be disputed that David really is the protector of the Florentines and they are incredibly fond of him.

Here is where I have to make a terrible confession.  My program had given each of us a museum pass at the beginning of the semester that allowed us access to every museum in Florence for free and I had only used it once.  To go to the Boboli gardens.  When Kara came to visit Florence, I knew that I couldn't let her go without seeing David.  Not to mention I needed to see him as well.  That and I knew it would be a little pathetic to send Kara back to the States with nothing to talk about or show for her time in Florence other than the obscene amounts of delicious food we had managed to put away during her stay.

So, on her final full day in Florence, Kara and I made our way to the Accademia.  We had gone later than planned, but this turned out to be in our favor.  With only an hour and a half left until closing and the sun beginning to set, most of the tourists had cleared out and we experienced no wait or issue getting in.  The museum itself is rather small and has an interesting mix of the old and the new.  We didn't get to see all of the museum during our time there, but that was OK with us.

When we entered, we thought of poking around and trying to see everything, but you could hear all the noise from the other room and knew exactly where David was without a doubt.  David is at the end of the corridor with other pieces leading up to him.  You can tell he is impressive from a distance, but you have to be close to get the full effect.

Kara and I made our way to him after looking at the pieces leading up to him and joined the crowd of admirers.  And that's all you can do really, just admire.  It was exactly what everyone had said.  You can talk about David all you want, but seeing is believing.  Words don't do him justice.  You forget that he is made out of marble with no modern tools or conveniences and when you do remember that this is David's reality, your mind is blown all over again.  The details are simply amazing.  You can see the veins in his arms and neck.  David is intense.  He is ready to do battle with whatever may come his way and will stand his ground. His glare is still pointed toward Rome, funny enough.  Taking pictures of him are not allowed and for something this special, I'll go along with the rules.  My pictures wouldn't do him justice anyway.

There is a bench near David and Kara and I simply sat there for a significant period of time and just stared.  Then we would talk about him for a little while, half of the words said being, "Wow.  ...  Wow."  And then we would go back to staring.  We stuck with this routine until they started to begin to flush people out of the museum.  We cast one last look and Kara snapped a few secret pictures and we made our way out.  We peeked into another part of the museum very quickly, but after that, you're ruined for life.  Leaving was bittersweet- we were so happy to have met David and so sad that we had to leave our new friend so soon.

So, moral of the story: put this on your bucket list.  David is simply too wonderful to pass up and you can't leave with a greater appreciation of how beautiful the human body has been created and how capable human efforts and creativity are at celebrating our beauty.  Go.  Don't ask questions.  Just book the next flight to Rome, catch the train to Florence, and get your butt to the Accademia.  You won't regret it.  I'll even let you crash on my couch.  ; P

See you in a few hours for your visit to meet David,
Sam