Away with the crane after 20 years: in 50 days Florence will say goodbye to the Uffizi "monster"

After nearly two decades, Florence is preparing to say goodbye to one of the most bulky and controversial presences on its skyline: the maxi crane that dominates the square in front of the Uffizi Gallery will be dismantled within 50 days. This was announced by Simone Verde, director of the Uffizi Galleries since January 2024, in an interview published today in the daily QN-La Nazione. The construction site, linked to the museum complex’s expansion works, has been active since 2006: since then the crane has become a symbol of immobility, an “inconvenient guest” that has disfigured the urban profile of one of the most beautiful and visited cities in the world. Now, thanks to a comprehensive reorganization of the construction site and the intervention of a string of private sponsors, the removal can finally take place.

Verde explained that the dismantling was by no means a simple operation. “It was not a simple operation,” the director explained. “We worked hard on the general reorganization of the site. In order to carry out the work, the supply of materials is still needed; but the crane is now an outsized tool compared to the needs of the intervention, so it will be dismantled and replaced by a zero-impact hoist, financed with a collective sponsorship of about 180 thousand euros from entrepreneurs in the city, whom I warmly thank, top management of Confinudistria in the lead, who promoted and coordinated the venture, for allowing the museum to finally close this embarrassing page of its history.”" The new lifting system will be less invasive and will allow work to continue without compromising the aesthetics and livability of the area.

What made this breakthrough possible was an economic contribution of about 180 thousand euros, the result of a collective sponsorship by a number of Florentine entrepreneurs. The names of the benefactors are well known and rooted in the economic and cultural fabric of the city: Stefano Ricci, Leonardo Bassilichi, Giorgio Moretti, Stefano Gabbrielli, Elisabetta Fabri, Marco Carrai, Confindustria, Enic, and Fondazione Cr Firenze. It was a choral response to an appeal that, as the director noted, captured widespread sensitivity. “They immediately responded to the Uffizi’s appeal,” Verde said. “On the other hand, this havoc had been weighing on the city for too long. A public administration, an institution like the Uffizi Gallery should be a symbol not only of the nation’s identity but also of its efficiency. So having an administrative and technical management that is efficient is a fundamental element for the very image of Italy. It is extremely important, both for the citizens who are its owners and financiers and for foreigners who look at the Uffizi as a banner of our country.”

Verde did not hide his satisfaction, announcing that the dismantling of the crane will be accompanied by a symbolic ceremony. “It will be a symbolic day, which Florence has been waiting for so long, that of the beginning of the end of this cursed construction site.”

Photo: Simone Verde with the Uffizi crane

Away with the crane after 20 years: in 50 days Florence will say goodbye to the Uffizi "monster"

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