The David

Wednesday we visited the Academia right next to San Marco square where the original David, created by Michaelangelo, is held, along with hundred of other amazing peices of art work. It was ironic that the Academia is a building I have passed by many times and I didn't even realize its importance. The outside of the building doesn't seem like it would hold such historic beauty. When you walk into the museum there is a large room filled with paintings and in the center is a sculpture. To the right is the museum of musical instruments which was very interesting. The shapes and different materials that they used as instruments were so different from what we currently use. One of the instruments was a metal bowl filled with water that had two handles, one on each side. In order to play it, you dipped your hands in the water and then rubbed the handles back and forth. Eventually the same kind of sound that comes when you rub your finger around a crystal glass. If you played the instrument well enough, the water would start to bubble from the vibrations.
Off to the left of the initial room was a long corridor with different sculptures on the sides all the way down. At the end of the corridor, there it was, the original David. I had to do a double take the first time I saw it because I didn't process that, that was it! As we got closer, the statue got larger and even more amazing. It was incredible that something so large and intricate could have been created so long ago, and that they had the resources to make art like that so long ago. Every detail of the man's body was included, even the veins in his arms and hands. People seemed to be rushing through looking at it, but I could have stared at it for a good hour just noticing the details of the sculpture. It was truly amazing!