Big Plans for a Bigger Uffizi

Model for new Uffizi entrance by Arata Isozaki

A $39-million construction project to expand the Uffizi Gallery in Florence by 60% gets underway this week, but not without controversy. The museum will grow to occupy the entire first floor of its palazzo, according to the scant information provided on its website.

Wanda Lattes reports in Corriere della Sera that Arata Isozaki's design for the new entrance canopy (above) has met opposition. But even more controversial is the planned demolition of historic structures:

The new east-sector staircase will have its base in the much-loved ancient church of San Pier Scheraggio, where since the eleventh century worshippers have included Dante and Boccaccio, and the west wing's descent and ascent block actually encroaches on the base of the Loggia dei Lanzi, the most famous open-air museum in the world.Construction will involve attacking hallowed, untouchable, stonework....

Another contested point is the restructuring of the Botticelli and Leonardo rooms, which attract large numbers of visitors and are poorly lit. The project includes plans to insert glazing under the trusses to enable the millions of visitors to admire Botticelli's "Allegory of Spring" or Leonardo's "Annunciation" in direct natural light.This idea has provoked concern and opposition,as has the plan for celebrated spaces like the Botticelli room no longer to sport their classic white plaster. In all probability, they will become pale blue.

One of the most prominent critics is the Uffizi's former director, Annamaria Petrioli Tofani, who had told me 11 years ago, when I interviewed her in her office, of the need to expand the second-floor museum to the first floor, as will now be done. According to the Times of London, she has now urged Florentines to "mobilize themselves and wake up to how a major monument is being altered."

Will this project at least provide a solution to those long lines?