The Uffizi Galleries announced a €50 million transformation programme on August 5 that will reshape the main gallery in Florence, the nearby Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens, according to details released by the museum. Director Simone Verde described the initiative as an operation of unprecedented scale and depth that combines visitor improvements with enhanced conservation measures across roughly 40 projects. The two-year effort, some elements of which have already begun, will allow the complex to remain open throughout while addressing demands from high visitor volumes at Italy’s most visited art museum.
New lighting systems, redesigned displays, updated labels, signage and accessibility features will be rolled out at the Uffizi Gallery and Palazzo Pitti, the galleries reported. Advanced air-handling equipment will improve indoor climate regulation to better protect artworks, while restorations of facades and roofs form part of the infrastructure upgrades. These interventions will radically transform the public face of the institution, its management has stated.
A new introductory exhibition space dedicated to the history of the collection will open at the Uffizi at a cost of €2.4 million, according to the published project breakdown. Rearrangements are also planned for rooms featuring works by Filippo Lippi and Andrea del Castagno, alongside a new reception area in the Magliabechiana Hall that will streamline access from Piazza del Grano. The changes respond to daily crowds that can reach 30,000 visitors.
At Palazzo Pitti, the little-known top-floor space known as the Piano degli Occhi, measuring 1,000 square metres, will be converted into a new exhibition area for €4.9 million, the Uffizi said. Lighting upgrades in the Palatine Gallery and further refurbishments will expand usable space in the former royal palace. Some preparatory work at the site, including a new palace entrance, opened in July 2024.
Restoration of the 17th-century amphitheatre and the Fountain of Neptune in the Boboli Gardens will receive €3 million as part of targeted upgrades to pathways, sculptures and greenhouses across the 11-acre site, project documents show. Originally designed in the 16th century for the Medici family, the gardens complete the Uffizi complex that draws millions of tourists each year. The phased approach aims to preserve Renaissance heritage while minimising disruption.
Half the funding will derive from ticket sales with the balance provided by Italy’s culture ministry and private contributions that include €5 million from philanthropist Veronika Atkins, The Art Newspaper reported. Simone Verde, who assumed the directorship in 2024, credited museum staff for completing two years of planning that enabled the current wave of construction sites. “Thanks to this series of unprecedented interventions, of extraordinary scope and depth, the Uffizi will present an even better image to the world than it does today,” Verde said in the statement.
