Gucci will donate two million
euros to the Uffizi Gallery to restore and enhance Florence's
Boboli Gardens park.
The announcement was made on Tuesday by Gucci CEO Marco
Bizzarri, Uffizi Director Eike Schmidt and Florence Mayor Dario
Nardella.
For the first time, as part of the deal, the Gucci Cruise
show will take place on May 29, 2018 in the Galleria Palatina of
the iconic Palazzo Pitti, which maintains the world-famous
gardens.
The 'Boboli Spring' project, promoted by the Italian culture
ministry under the aegis of the Florence city council, in
partnership with the Uffizi Gallery, "will make the greenery of
the garden thrive again and restore it to its status as the
Italian Versailles," said Schmidt.
Bizzarri noted that one million people visited the garden
last year and he, too, said "we want to restore it to its place
as the Versailles of Italy".
The project had a "particular significance", he said,
reflecting Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele's
"cultural and aesthetic background", which finds in Renaissance
Florence "an undying source of inspiration".
Culture Minister Dario Franceschini hailed Gucci's
"significant" investment, noting that fashion is part of Italy's
cultural heritage.
The Boboli Gardens (Italian: Giardino di Boboli) is a park
behind Palazzo Pitti, that is home to a collection of sculptures
dating from the 16th through the 18th centuries, with some Roman
antiquities.
It is one of the most famous gardens in Italy and a favourite
spot for locals and tourists to picnic.
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