The Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze (ABAFI) is a state art school and the oldest public institution for fine arts education in the world. Founded in 1563 by Cosimo I de' Medici under the influence of Giorgio Vasari, it was subsequently reorganized at the initiative of the Grand Duke of Tuscany and separated from the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno in 1784. Michelangelo, Benvenuto Cellini and other significant artists have been associated with it. Like other state art academies in Italy, it became an autonomous degree-awarding institution under law no. 508 dated 21 December 1999, and falls under the administration of the Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca, the Italian ministry of education and research. The adjacent Galleria dell'Accademia houses the original David by Michelangelo.