Rome, 2 July 2024 – The Uffizi Galleries of Florence at the center of a real revolution branded Simone Green. “Ambassador of Italian museums in the world” is the goal that the new director of the museum has set for the Uffizi. And to do so he dictates rules and times, illustrating the action plans during a press conference at the Foreign Press headquarters in Palazzo Grazioli, in Rome.
“The Uffizi represented, first of all on an architectural level, the prototype of the Western museum” says Verde. And he explains: “In fact, its model has been replicated for centuries and up to today throughout the world. Furthermore, the Uffizi together with Palazzo Pitti are today a true living encyclopedia of the universal history of museums that goes from the Renaissance to the Modernism of Michelucci, Gradella and Scarpa”. Therefore, starting from these elements “we would like to reclaim the centrality of our institute both on a scientific and public level for a new international protagonism”. And to do so the first objective is clear. “To create a study centre with the participation of the most important international scholars: it should arise at Casino del Cavaliere in the Boboli Gardens” says the director. And speaking of Boboli, “We have freed up 600 thousand euros of Gucci’s 2019 donation that we will use to plant thousands of trees and plants and further increase the greenery”. Another objective: to recompose the historical heritage with sections on the history of the collections both at the Uffizi (ground floor) and at Palazzo Pitti (Sala Bianca), open storage of furniture and tapestries (also at Pitti), a section on the history of Boboli; the reorganization of the Medici treasure rooms at Pitti.
And, again: the reconstruction of the hall of Recipe of the Inscriptions at the Uffizi and the reopening of the Flemish painters’ rooms, also at the Uffizi. These two rooms are almost ready, so much so that they will be inaugurated on July 31st in the presence of the Minister of Culture). Gennaro Sangiuliano. Another date to put on the calendar: July 16th with the reopening of the fashion museum at Palazzo Pitti. “We are also working on a large fashion project, which will have great international media coverage; targeted and very high-quality acquisitions” says the director. But the news does not end here. Verde is aiming for a museum specifically for children. “It will be on the ground floor of the Uffizi, we have the support of Friends of Florence which will finance the initiative,” he says, announcing that he is also working to create the new entrance, “an appropriate business card” from Piazza del Grano. “In any case, the crane from the square must go away, it is an absolute priority,” he maintains. Then the big announcement: “The Vasari Corridor will reopen by the end of the year. In late autumn we will open the first section, we are working on the installation with a scientific team.”
