FLORENCE, Italy (AP) -- Italy's biggest drawing museum has announced plans to more than double its exhibition space and dramatically increase the number of works on display.
Starting in 2006, the Uffizi Gallery will offer art lovers the opportunity to see 800 additional works, many of which are now stored for lack of space.
The $75 million overhaul is the first comprehensive renewal of the 16th century building in decades. It aims to make better sense of the museum's space. Currently visitors must make a labyrinth-like tour to admire the gallery's priceless collection.
"It's an history-making project, for both the Uffizi and Italy," Culture Minister Giuliano Urbani said at a news conference in the Uffizi's library on Tuesday.
Officials said most of the museum will stay open to the public during the renovation.
Part of the project was unveiled more than a year ago but was put on hold after it provoked an outcry in this Renaissance city. That plan, by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, called for the construction of a seven-story-high, canopy-like structure for a new exit.
"It made no sense to block the entire project only because of the exit," Urbani said.
Construction began on Palazzo degli Uffizi, a U-shaped building that extends from Piazza della Signoria -- the heart of Florence -- to the Arno river, in 1560. Designed by artist and art historian Giorgio Vasari, the palace was completed about 15 years later.
Its art collection has been growing for centuries and has long been one of the greatest in the world. Today, it includes some of the Renaissance's highest achievements and such masterpieces as Botticelli's "Primavera."
These treasures attract some 4,500 visitors a day -- a number officials expect to swell to 7,000 after the renovation.
The number of works on display will soar from the current 1,200 to about 2,000, arranged either chronologically or by school.
"One starts with Cimabue, Giotto, the fathers of Italian art, and then gets to centuries that are closer to us," said Tuscany's top art official, Antonio Paolucci. "The Uffizi is like a textbook of art history."
Among the paintings to come out of storage will be some from the School of Caravaggio, including one by Gentileschi and another by Manfredi as well as a painting attributed to Guido Reni.
Exhibition space will increase from 7,200 square yards to 15,600 square yards. Many of the new rooms are on the first floor, and five or six of them are already due to open in March.
Two new staircases have been planned, one on the eastern wing and the other on the western wing. Both the entrance and the exit will be located on the eastern wing. Separate itineraries will be designed to avoid overlapping of visitors, officials said.
The project also envisages more space between the art works, and improved lighting and security systems. The project is funded in part by Benetton, Italy's clothing giant.
Posted Mon, Apr 26, 2004 19:59 by Courtesy
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