Uffizi Secures €50M for Unprecedented Renovation: Construction Begins Across the Complex

The Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence has secured €50 million for a vast renovation project, announced by director Simone Verde. The funds will finance interventions across the entire complex, including the Galleria delle Statue e delle Pitture, Palazzo Pitti, and the Giardino di Boboli. Key projects include the restoration of the Anfiteatro di Boboli and the Fontana del Nettuno, the musealization of the 'Piano degli Occhi' (the top floor of Palazzo Pitti) to create about 1000 square meters of exhibition space, and the restoration of numerous rooms in the Galleria Palatina with renewed lighting. A new introductory section on the history of collections will be created at the Uffizi, along with a new entrance on Piazza del Grano. The second floor will see new installations for the Flemish rooms, the opening of rooms dedicated to Andrea del Castagno and Filippo Lippi, and the reinstallation of the Verone. The Scarpa-Michelucci-Gardella rooms will be restored with new mediation devices. Outdoor furniture for the Uffizi terrace, cooling towers, and air conditioning systems will be added, with attention to climate change adaptation. Verde, who has led the institution for two years, emphasized the unprecedented scale of the operation, made possible by the staff's commitment. Recent changes include the new display of Botticelli's 'Venus' and 'Primavera' facing each other for the first time, and 3,000-4,000 new plantings at Boboli over two years.