The Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze is pleased to present the theatrical reading Non ha la par cosa tutto il mondo. Michelangelo’s Prisoners and the troubled enterprise of the tomb of Pope Julius II. .

On Monday, June 9 (6 p.m.), the Florentine museum will host Professor Tomaso Montanari and actor Francesco Gori, who will illustrate the story of one of the most ambitious projects of Michelangelo’s entire career. The event is part of the cultural review L’eterno contemporaneo. Michelangelo 1475 – 2025, designed to celebrate Michelangelo Buonarroti on the occasion of the 550th anniversary of his birth.

In 1505 Michelangelo was 30 years old and already established fame, having already created extraordinary masterpieces such as the Pieta and the David, when Pope Julius II entrusted him with the construction of his own funeral monument. The artist conceives an unprecedented monumental work, the Pope is enthusiastic about it, and Michelangelo immediately leaves for Carrara to pick up a huge quantity of marble. Soon, however, papal priorities change: the reconstruction of St. Peter’s takes over and the tomb project is put aside. From that moment on, Michelangelo’s relationship with the work becomes an unresolved knot: thus, amid interruptions and second thoughts, the realization of the monument will accompany him for about forty years.

The Prisoners were born in this context, since they were conceived for the original tomb project of Julius II. Four of them – The Young Slave, The Bearded Slave, The Atlas and The Awakening Slave – are now in the Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze, while the other two are in the Louvre. Unfinished works, yet of overwhelming expressive force, the Prisoners represent the very symbol of the artist’s struggle with matter– as well as the creative tension between idea and realization.

Around the genesis of these monumental sculptures – and the reflection on Michelangelo as a creator and as a man – develops the reading by Tomaso Montanari and Francesco Gori, built on the excerpts from Michelangelo’s Letters, Giorgio Vasari’s Vite and Ascanio Condivi’s biography.

Non ha la par cosa tutto il mondo is much more than a historical narrative: it is a direct confrontation with Michelangelo’s restless genius, his vision, his obsessions, his conflicts.

Admission to the event is free while places last. Reservations on Eventbrite starting May 28 (2.00 p.m.)

Update May 29 2025, 2.30 p.m.: due to the great interest in the event, the bookings were sold out in less than 24 hours.
However, we have activated a waiting list: should there be any cancellations, those on the waiting list will be able to attend the event.

The performance will be repeated in the fall.

The reading Non ha la par cosa tutto il mondo curated by Tomaso Montanari e Francesco Gori is part of the retrospective L’eterno contemporaneo. Michelangelo 1475 – 2025.

The calendar of events, which will unfold over the course of 2025, is designed to deepen our knowledge of Michelangelo’s masterpieces preserved at the Accademia Gallery – highlighting the artist’s vision, his innovative spirit and his extraordinary topicality.

Learn more about the resign «L’eterno contemporaneo»

Download the calendar PNG – PDF