The Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze opens 2025 with a rich program of educational activities designed for middle school students, families, and individuals with sensory disabilities. The visits and workshops, launching with an initial series in February and March 2025, aim to enhance the museum experience as a moment of discovery, social interaction, and learning. The first event is specifically designed for families, particularly children aged 6 to 11.

Workshops and Educational Activities

Divine Light in Paintings: Gilding with Gold Leaf

This workshop introduces and demonstrates the technique of golden painting on panel. Following a brief historical overview, participants will have the opportunity to experiment with the gilding process, using the same method artists employed to enhance their panel paintings with shimmering gold reflections.
Dates: Saturday, February 8, February 22, and March 1, 2025 – 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM
Participants: Families with children aged 6 to 11, each accompanied by one adult (max. 15 participants)
Info & Reservations: Eventbrite

The Art of Drawing: Thinking Through Lines

This educational program is tailored for middle school students. Inspired by Giorgio Vasari, who founded the Accademia del Disegno in 1563 as a training and promotion center for artists, this workshop will guide participants in observing an architectural or artistic element while introducing them to basic drawing techniques from life.
Dates: Thursday, February 20 & February 27, 2025 – 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM
Participants: Middle school classes (+ teachers)

Inclusive Visits for Individuals with Sensory Disabilities

In 2025, the Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze will also offer a series of guided tours specifically designed for individuals with visual or hearing impairments. These include:

6 tactile visits for blind or visually impaired visitors, in collaboration with the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired (UICI) Florence
10 visits in Italian Sign Language (LIS) for deaf visitors, in collaboration with the National Association for the Deaf (ENS) Florence
These visits are part of a special program celebrating the 550th anniversary of Michelangelo Buonarroti’s birth (March 6, 1475). The first events will take place in February and March, with two tactile visits and two LIS visits, continuing into the autumn.

San Matteo: Exploring the Form Immersed in Marble

A tactile tour for blind and visually impaired visitors offering an in-depth exploration of Michelangelo’s artistic research through direct touch. Participants will experience the unfinished San Matteo, originally intended for the Florence Cathedral, by wearing gloves and touching the sculpture to recognize the tool marks, expressive potential of the material, and the artist’s unique approach to „non-finito.“

Dates: Wednesday, February 19 & March 12, 2025 – 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM
Admission & tour are free, reservation required
Info & Reservations: edu@stazioneutopia.com | Tel. +39 388 4609980

Sculptures in the Accademia

A guided tour in Italian Sign Language (LIS) for deaf visitors, conducted in collaboration with ENS Florence. These visits will explore the evolution of Renaissance sculpture, focusing on the expressive potential of different materials and techniques. Participants will compare Michelangelo’s masterpieces with Giambologna’s terracotta model of The Rape of the Sabines, examining how artists, despite using different methods, sought to express movement and form.

Dates: Wednesday, February 12 & Thursday, March 13, 2025 – 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Admission & tour are free, reservation required
Info & Reservations: edu@stazioneutopia.com |  Tel. +39 388 4609980 | Telegram: t.me/visiteculturalilis

All activities are organized in collaboration with Stazione Utopia.

This is a fantastic opportunity to engage with art in an interactive and inclusive way at the Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze!