The Uffizi

Posted by Griffin. This week we went to the Uffizi. The Uffizi is largely considered to be the most important collection of Italian Renaissance art in Europe, so this was very exciting. It's an architecturally stunning building, construction began in 1560 under Giorgio Vasari and was completed under Alfonso Parigi and Bernardo Bountalenti in 1581. While the exterior design is in the style of 16th Italian palaces, most notably displayed in the Piti Palace in Florence, the interior design is largely that of 19th century European museum architecture. As you enter, you are greeted by hushed voices that reverberate in the colossal entrance hall. The collection of paintings that greet you in the first few rooms are amazing, they range from the international Gothic style to the quintessential early Italian Renaissance works of Botticelli. The Botticelli room was one of the definite highlights of the Uffizi. This room featured his "Birth of Venus" as well as "Primavera", these works go beyond what words could ever accomplish and whisk you away from the crowds in the Uffizi to a different world. As you gaze at the "Birth of Venus" you can no longer see the crowds of people clamoring to get a look, and instead all that is visible is the vulnerability of the young goddess, and the strength of the zephyrs. Needless to see I loved this museum.

In 1993, in an act of terrorism, the Sicilian mafia detonated a car bomb in front of the Uffizi. This killed five people and damaged the extensive collection. Now 22 years later the museum has not yet recovered from this horrific act. A large collection of classical marbles in the Niobe room were damaged, as well as this room's Neoclassical interior. Finally after a long struggle, the Uffizi was able to completely restore these figures, however the frescos on the walls were irreversibly damaged. The Uffizi is one of the greatest art museums in Europe, and not only stands for the beauty that humans can create but also for the resiliency and strength shown by the art community in Florence.

Niobe Room Uffizi