March 6: the 550th anniversary since the birth of Michelangelo

Michelangelo Buonarroti was born on March 6, 1475, and this year marks the 550th anniversary of his birth.
And Florence celebrates him in many places and with many events, starting from the ancient seat of city power: Palazzo Vecchio. Here in the Salone dei Cinquecento, Professor Francesco Vossilla's conference entitled “The genius of Victory” celebrates the great master, already considered by his contemporaries as the “divine artist”, and aims to delve deeper into the multifaceted and restless figure of Michelangelo, who lived between Florence and Rome in the service of the most powerful men of his time.

Michelangelo was called to work in the Salone dei Cinquecento, alongside Leonardo da Vinci, for the creation of the Battle of Cascina, a project that was never completed. The Hall, however, preserves the Genius of Victory, one of the artist's most famous sculptures, designed for the tomb of Julius II in St. Peter's, but never finished in its original form and donated by his nephew, Leonardo Buonarroti, to Duke Cosimo I in 1565.
On the same day, March 6, a commemorative wreath will be placed on his tomb in Santa Croce.

In his Florence, where he spent a good part of his life and where he is buried, special tributes will be paid to Michelangelo throughout the year. The places involved are those linked to his figure, such as the Accademia Gallery, Palazzo Vecchio, the Basilica of Santa Croce and the Basilica of San Lorenzo, the Casa Buonarroti Museum. It is an extensive program that is constantly being further defined.
The Accademia Gallery celebrates the artist with the cultural project named “L’eterno contemporaneo” (The Eternal Contemporary), starting this Thursday March 6, which seeks to highlight Michelangelo’s ongoing relevance.
The Galleria is an institution with particular ties to the Renaissance artist, ties which began with the acquisition of the David in 1873, and later of The Prisoners, Saint Matthew and the Palestrina Pietà.

For this occasion Firenzecard suggests you an itinerary to discover the works of the genius of the Italian Renaissance, an artist who more than any other left an indelible mark on the history of art across all time.
•    Casa Buonarroti. Here, many drawings and early works by Michelangelo are preserved, including a collection of autograph sketches and two famous marble reliefs, The Madonna of the Stairs and The Battle of the Centaurs.
•    Museo Nazionale del Bargello, featuring an entire room dedicated to Michelangelo, where standout pieces include Bacchus and the Pitti Tondo.
•    Galleria dell'Accademia, where you can admire not only the “true” David but also some of the artist’s unfinished sculptures, such as Saint Matthew and the Prisoners, immortalized in their desperate struggle to free themselves from the marble block.
•    Uffizi Galleries. Here, the Doni Tondo, Michelangelo’s first tempera painting on panel, is displayed.
•    Museo di Palazzo Vecchio, where in the magnificent Hall of the Five Hundred, the Genius of Victory superbly celebrates Florence’s victory and conquest of Siena.
•    Medici Chapels, featuring the New Sacristy, designed by Michelangelo both architecturally and sculpturally.