Uffizi becomes world's most followed art museum on TikTok

The Uffizi Galleries in Florence have become the most followed art museum on TikTok, surpassing the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Rijksmuseum. As of the weekend, the Uffizi TikTok account reached 21,700 followers and 87,800 likes, driven by a live stream with creator Martina Socrate. The account, launched in April 2020, features short, humorous videos about the museum's masterpieces and has garnered 551,246 total views, with a peak of 60,000 views during the Friday evening live stream from the Galleria delle Statue e delle Pitture. On Instagram, the Uffizi surpassed 500,000 followers over the weekend, making it the most followed museum in Italy and 13th in Europe, behind the Louvre, Prado (734K), Hermitage (559K), and Rijksmuseum (552K). The museum had no Facebook presence before the pandemic but quickly gained over 18,000 followers on that platform, now at 56,500. Director Eike Schmidt noted that digital engagement has boosted physical visits, with a 24% increase in visitors over the weekend compared to the first post-lockdown weekend, reaching 10,387 visitors. Popular Instagram posts include Cellini's Perseus (30,374 likes), Titian's Venus of Urbino for the #DollyPartonChallenge (23,612 likes), and Botticelli's Venus (19,559 likes).