The Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence, during the mandate of director Cecilie Hollberg, at the helm of the museum that has housed Michelangelo’s David since December 2015, achieved extraordinary results both for the restoration, renovation and modernization activities, and for the quality of visit with a 42% increase in the public and a record of over two million visitors. We went from 1,415,397 visitors in 2015 to 2,013,582 in 2023 (with revenues growing from 9,240,281.69 euros in 2015 to 19,686,440.44 in 2023 and an increase of 113%).
The new entrance and the new facade are the last two stages that conclude the major construction sites: thanks to these interventions the museum has improved tourist access routes, usability, safety and will be able to increase the maximum presence of people inside. This is highlighted by the 2016-2024 Report of the Galleria Accademia, presented today, a volume that illustrates the final stages of the museum’s work and the results of eight years of director Hollberg’s mandate which saw the complete transformation of a place that has acquired great value in quality and beauty.
The museum confirms itself as one of the two most visited Italian museums, after the Uffizi, a record obtained also thanks to excellent management of visitor flows. Since 2017, the Gallery has periodically activated monitoring of its visitors through the administration of questionnaires, in order to acquire valuable information on the level of public satisfaction, to probe the evaluation of the services offered, and to be able to identify the most effective strategies to improve the modes of cultural enjoyment. After the closure due to the pandemic, it was found that 50% of visitors were young people under 25 years old. The last questionnaire was carried out in September 2023. Regarding the reasons for the visit, it emerges that now only 13% clearly indicated David as the sole reason for the visit. This confirms that today the entire Gallery, not just the David, is attractive to the public.
Preparation of the major construction sites began in 2016, a few weeks after Cecilie Hollberg took over as director. The works took place over 3,000 m2 of the museum in which 750 meters of ventilation and air conditioning ducts, missing or obsolete in some rooms, were installed, replaced or sanitized, and 130 meters of ducts were renovated. The captions and layouts of various rooms have been renewed with wall colors that enhance the works, passages, windows and doors have been opened to give more space and offer new routes, some of which have become ‘museums within the museum’: from the Plaster Cast Gallery which has completely changed its face and use of the connection of the rooms with the Department of Musical Instruments. All the collections have been digitized, putting artist archive documents online, inventorying the library, up to the dematerialization of the entrance ticket. Important victories were obtained with the State Attorney’s Office for the protection of the image of David, a precedent for all cultural heritage. The collections have been increased with new acquisitions, important research exhibitions have been presented, scientific catalogs have been published, such as the first repertoire of paintings in the Gallery.
“We have maintained the unmistakable identity of the beloved museum, while transforming it into a welcoming and inclusive environment, a lively meeting place to enjoy beauty, art, music, research, history, discussion, education, intellect or pleasure”, declares Cecilie Hollberg. “It is a great team effort in which each individual has contributed with dedication, professionalism and passion. We are grateful for the help and advice from external experts and professionals and for having accompanied us over the years to finally obtain a unique museum arrived in the 21st century and recognized as such internationally. I thank the museum staff for having followed me in all these years, not always easy, for various reasons, not least for the loss of autonomy in 2019 and having to start again once again. all over again in 2020 – added Hollberg – I thank the Ministry of Culture, the General Directorate of Museums, the bodies that supported us, the colleagues, the many Italian and non-Italian institutions with which we have signed agreements and collaborations, the partners, the sponsors and the Association of Friends of the Gallery which brought the museum back into the hearts of citizens”.
