Uffizi launches 'Uffizi da mangiare' series with star chefs on Facebook

The Uffizi Galleries in Florence have announced a new Facebook video series titled 'Uffizi da mangiare' (Uffizi to Eat), launching January 17, 2021. Each Sunday, a renowned chef or food personality will select an artwork from the museum's collections—particularly still lifes—and create a recipe inspired by the depicted ingredients. The series aims to explore the historical connection between art and gastronomy. Director Eike Schmidt stated that the bond between art and gastronomy has become a serious field of historical inquiry, and the videos intend to create a closer link with the artworks by placing them in a contemporary context. Participating chefs include Fabio Picchi of Cibrèo in Florence, who will engage with Giacomo Ceruti's 'Boy with Fish'; Dario Cecchini, butcher and restaurateur from Panzano in Chianti, known for incorporating Dante's 'Divine Comedy' into his cooking, who will reinterpret Jacopo Chimenti's 'Dispensa con botte, selvaggina, carni e vasellame'; Michelin-starred Valeria Piccini of Da Caino in Montemerano, who will create a recipe from a still life by L'Empoli; and Marco Stabile, another Michelin-starred chef from L'Ora d'Aria in Florence, who will craft a dish based on Giorgio de Chirico's 'Peperoni e uva'. The series will run until late spring. The Uffizi joined Facebook just over a year ago, after having no presence before the pandemic, and quickly gained over 18,000 followers and hundreds of thousands of views.