Uffizi chief promises 'revolution'

(ANSA) - Florence, November 8 - The Uffizi Gallery will undergo a "revolution" next year, Director Eike Schmidt told ANSA recently.
    To begin with, the entire second floor of the Florence museum that was first established in the late 16th century will be dedicated to four Renaissance masters - Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael.
    "The works of Raphael, (which are currently) crowded in a little room on the first floor, (will be brought up) to the second floor," Schmidt explained. "Leonardo will also 'rise' from the first to the second.
    That way we will reunite them with Michelangelo and Botticelli, who are already there".
    He said the floor will have an independent entrance that will allow for viewers who have never been to the Uffizi before to view the great masters in a single visit.
    The coming year will also see the comeback of a Leonardo da Vinci 1481 oil on wood painting titled 'The Adoration of the Magi', which has been under restoration for years.
    Schmidt said the painting would be ready for public viewing by Easter, and that an entire show would be created to celebrate its return from storage in the Uffizi, where it has been since 1670.
    Another major change is that the Uffizi will do away with its one-size-fits-all tickets that force visitors to follow a mandatory path through the exhibits.
    Also in the works is an 800-square-metre exhibition space on the ground floor for temporary shows, which Schmidt said would be ready within three months and which would also have its own independent entrance and separate tickets.
    Schmidt is also putting an end to fashion shows - such as those by Pitti Uomo - in the museum.
    "Neither the rooms nor the hallways are suitable (for fashion shows)." he said, citing the presence of statues and adding he would redirect requests to Palazzo Pitti.
    Private events and dinners will be limited to the terrace and the city's Magliabechiana Library.
    A German art historian, Schmidt became the first non-Italian to head the Uffizi when he was appointed in 2015.