On June 19, the Uffizi Gallery and its artistic itineraries will be extended again to offer its visitors nine new rooms rich in masterpieces and artworks of important artists.
The new rooms are located on the first floor of the Gallery and, together with the other 8 new Blue Rooms inaugurated in December 2011 (dedicated to foreign painters of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries), will integrate the “New Uffizi” project which aims to expand the museum’s visible collections and to a better distribution of the spaces within.
Since the new rooms have been under setup, several statues have been moved from their usual position in Hermaphrodite’s room (hall 17) to the first floor.
Among these statues we find: the Aphrodite or “The Bathing Venus” (Hellenistic art) and the “Gaddi Torso” ( Roman II BC) and the Spinario (Roman art) and the Roman Hercules (second century A. D.) which were early to be seen on the Western corridor. The artworks which were part of a path called “Uffizi to Touch” was conceived for the visually impaired and blind and will temporarily not be available until the opening of the new rooms is completed. But don’t worry, the wait will pay off as the new itinerary will offer a larger and richer selection of works of art.
Soon, four additional works from the Archaeological Museum in Florence will join the Uffizi’s Hellenistic sculptures, including the Niobe and a Head of Ariadne, Dionysus with a Panther and Citaredo Apollo. All of these will be found together in hall 56 right before entering the rest of the new rooms.
The nine rooms will be dedicated to painters of the sixteenth century, in particular to Tuscan Masters such as Andrea del Sarto, Bronzino and Raffaello.
“Museums at Night ” is a special cultural event organized in many European cities and this year will take place on this May 19th.
The Uffizi Gallery also participates in the initiative offering the chance to visit the Museum for free until late night.
Uffizi will be open on this Saturday, May 19th with free entrance from 7pm to 1am (last entries 45 minutes before closing).
Enjoy a very special night at the Uffizi Gallery!
At the Uffizi Gallery up until June 3rd, 2012 and after 25 years of being hidden from the public, you can finally admire the enchanting tapestries that form the temporary exhibition now on called The Tapestry Gallery, Epiphanies of Precious Fabrics.
On exhibit, 17 beautiful and precious tapestries will take you on a journey through the past. These masterpieces were removed from the Uffizi Gallery in 1987 due to the fast degradation of the artworks: light, tensile stress and variation in temperatures made it necessary to move the works to a more appropriate room, at the time not within the museum. Soon, a dedicated room will be created with the ideal conditions for conservation of the tapestries while they are shown to the public.
The exhibition illustrates better than any book the time of the European courts during the Renaissance as well as the history of the Passion of Christ, of myths and the passage of the seasons.
Cycles of Flemish art alternate to ones of the Florentine School, famous worldwide today for its prestigious art of restoration.
We recommend you buy your Uffizi ticket online ahead of time to avoid any lines!!
Take advantage of the special opportunity to visit the exhibit free from April 14th up through June 2nd at these times: 9.30; 11.30; 14.30; 16.30.
Enjoy a very special evening at the Uffizi!
“Aperitivo ad Arte“, a special collaboration between Polo Museale fiorentino, Firenze Musei, ATAF and Ntv, will be opening the Uffizi Gallery on Thursday evenings starting today April 26 until the end of June which allows you to both visit the new Blue Rooms dedicated to foreign artists as well as enjoy a buffet apertivo on the Uffizi terrace overlooking Piazza della Signoria, site where once the Grand Dukes of the Medici house enjoyed enjoyable outdoors evenings enjoying the view.
Visits to the new 8 rooms will be without a guide throughout the course of the evening, from 7pm through 9:30pm, where you can admire paintings by Goya, Rubens and many other Spanish masters as well as Flemish, Dutch, German painters.
Entrance costs 10 euro and the entrance is through the new stairway found right behind the Loggia dei Lanzi.
We recommend you reserve either through the Firenze Musei or Ataf call center at the following numbers: 055.294.883 or 800.424.500 if you’re calling from a landline, or 199-104245 if you’re calling from a cellphone.
This is a special opportunity to enjoy art together with an evening out with friends in a very special setting!
On March 8, Italy joins in the celebration of Woman’s Day and you’ll see bouquets of the yellow mimosa flowers everywhere: in Italy, it is tradition to give them to women as a show of appreciation.
For the occasion, the Uffizi Gallery will be offering free entrance to all women!
The special project to open the Vasari Corridor in 2012 was offering visits between January 12 and April 27…. and bookings are already complete!
The Uffizi will soon give out information if new dates will be offered for 2012 so stay in touch for updates!
The Contini Bonacossi Art Collection is part of the Uffizi’s collections, located within an ordinary looking palazzo on via Lambertesca in front of the Georgofili Academy behind the Uffizi. It is normally closed and is completely separate from the Uffizi Gallery. Between January 17 and April 27, 2012, you can once again enjoy a free guided visit on Thursdays to the beautiful collection thanks to the work and help provided by the Uffizi Gallery’s security guards and the “Amici degli Uffizi” association that will make it possible to open the collection to the public.
The collection is deemed among the most important art collections of the 20th century. In 1969, the Italian State purchased a part of it for the Uffizi Gallery. The collection consists of about 50 works which include furnishings, ceramics, sculptures and masterpieces of European painting dating from the 14th to 18th century which include works by Andrea del Castagno, Giovanni Bellini, Girolamo Savoldo, El Greco and Zurbaran.
WHEN
Thursdays at 2pm and 4:15pm (except for April 5, 2012)
HOW
Booking is required, with a maximum number of 5 persons per group.
Visits can be booked between Tuesday and Sunday at the Uffizi Gallery Info Point between 9am and 6pm or by calling +39-055 2388809.
WHERE
The meeting point for visitors is at the first door on the long side of the Loggiato degli Uffizi, 15 minutes before the visit.
The first areas of the New Uffizi opened in late December and are dedicated to foreign artists. Located in the areas called “gabinetti” or studies, works of smaller dimensions from the 16th and 17th centuries by “foreign” artists are displayed, in particular works by Spanish, French, Flemish and Dutch artists.
Since these areas occupy a portion of the museum outside of the section built by Vasari, it was decided it was not necessary to continue to follow the Vasarian color scheme: grey sandstone and white walls. Instead, the walls here are BLUE!! Thus, accordingly, the new sections of the Uffizi are now being called the Blue Rooms.
A blue background seems to be very well suited to the works of art displayed here and, while it can cause quite a visual contrast passing into these rooms from the rest of the Uffizi collection, it is certainly the reaction hoped for. Bringing color into the museum which does not have to exist only within the works of art displayed!
We hope you enjoy visiting the new rooms – let us know what your impressions were!
The Uffizi Gallery will be open on December 24 until 5.50pm (closes an hour earlier than usual) and have a special opening on Monday, December 26 (open until 18.50, normal hours).
It will remain closed on Christmas Day (December 25) and January 1, 2012.
The Uffizi will again have a Special Opening on Monday, January 2!
The Uffizi Gallery is generally not open on Mondays but on October 31st, its doors will remain open to allow all visitors to Florence for the long weekend (November 1st is an Italian national holiday) to enjoy its exceptional art collection!
