Academy of fine arts was founded in 1563. The exhibition gallery was formed in 1784 under the direction of the Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo. 100 years later to the main building of the Academy built a new building, the so-called Rostrum, to accommodate the original statue of "David" by Michelangelo. In the Gallery there are other masterpieces by Michelangelo, such as "Slaves". This sculptural group created in 1521-1523, to decorate the tomb of Pope Julius II.

In the Gallery of the Academy you can see the magnificent collection of paintings by famous Florentine artists, among them Botticelli, Filippo Lippi, Bronzino and Ghirlandaio. In one of its halls painting and scupture members of the Academy of the nineteenth century, including the work of the sculptor Lorenzo Bartolini.