Lands of the Uffizi is going from strength to strength

Three confirmations and three new territories involved including Grosseto, an absolute first for the Maremma: six exhibitions are scheduled in 2023 for the third edition of Lands of the Uffizi, a project for the enhancement of Tuscany's art heritage promoted by the Gallerie degli Uffizi and the Fondazione CR Firenze in the context of their respective Uffizi Diffusi and Piccoli Grandi Musei schemes. The new programme of exhibitions designed to bolster the link with the territory and its artistic wealth was presented this morning by Luigi Salvadori, President of the Fondazione CR Firenze, by Eike Schmidt, Director of the Gallerie degli Uffizi and by representatives of the territories involved.

The exhibitions will be held in Montelupo, Montespertoli, Scarperia, Anghiari, Grosseto and San Giovanni Valdarno.

Lands of the Uffizi continues to meet its target, namely to divert the tourist influx away from Florence and to increase the number of visitors in the surrounding area by involving local authorities and existing museums throughout the region. The figures confirm an average 37% increase in the number of visitors by comparison with the same period in the year before the project was launched (the figure for the first year of exhibitions was +18%), with a total of 61,402 visitors attending the eight exhibitions and takings of 216,000 euro for the museums, which charged for admission. The questionnaires (over 3,000 of which have been analysed) answered by visitors reveal that 79% were visiting the museum for the first time and 47% were visiting it expressly for the exhibition.

The 2023 edition kicks off with the exhibition "The Ceramics of Montelupo and the Uffizi: a gallery of comparisons" due to run from 1 April to 1 October at the Museo della Ceramica in Montelupo. This will be followed by the Montespertoli exhibition at the Museo Diocesano d’Arte Sacra di San Pietro in Mercato, from 22 April to 29 October, its third exhibition in the Land of the Uffizi initiative. Devoted this year to Filippo Lippi, the exhibition is entitled "Filippo Lippi in the Valdelsa". A new entry to the project is Scarperia, in particular the Palazzo dei Vicari - Museo dei Ferri Taglienti, which will be hosting an exhibition from 12 May to 5 November entitled “The Medici, Mugello Folk. Family portraits from the Gallerie degli Uffizi”. For Anghiari, on the other hand, it will be a third after its participation in the 2021 and 2022 editions. From 27 May to 17 September the Museo della Battaglia e di Anghiari will be hosting “Intellectuals at War. Fame and oblivion of two men of letters from the Battle of Anghiari to the siege of Famagusta”. The Lands of the Uffizi will be making its mark in Grosseto for the first time with “The Fabulous '60s in the Maremma. The mark of Ico Parisi” at the Polo culturale della Clarisse from 17 June to 3 September. And finally, San Giovanni Valdarno will be hositng a major exhibition exploring the figure of Giovanni da San Giovanni at the Museo delle Terre Nuove from 8 October to 30 March 2024, entitled “«Bizarre and Capricious Mood». Giovanni da San Giovanni, an unconventional painter at the court of the Medici”.

 Fondazione CR Firenze President Luigi Salvadori: “We are extremely satisfied with the outcome of this project – said Fondazione CR Firenze President Luigi Salvadori – which is proving its worth in a concrete manner. The exhibitions have helped to considerably increase familiarity with, and visitor numbers to, the places that have hosted them, and a large part of the public who visited them did so because the value of the cultural project drew their attention. So we have fully met the main targets of this operation, which set itself the goal, right from the outset, of decongesting major tourist flows and allowing people to discover destinations and places which, while less well-known, are certainly no less rich in beauty and art. We firmly intend to support this model of 'experiential tourism' which has grown considerably in this post-pandemic year and which, according to the most authoritative experts in the field, is going to increase by 57% by the year 2030’’.

Gallerie degli Uffizi Director Eike Schmidt: “This initiative, which began immediately after lockdown, is having an unexpected impact. Other initiatives of a similar kind are being launched elsewhere in Italy, and even abroad certain museum directors, experts and local authorities in cities that are being swamped by mass tourism like Florence, are showing an interest in our model so that they can emulate it in their own areas. After three years, I can only say that a project initially eyed with protectionistic suspicion and feared by some to be an act of spoliation has, on the contrary, enriched both the territory and the Uffizi itself, whose works are displayed in a new light and greeted with enthusiasm. I am grateful to Luigi Salvadori for instantly grasping the educational and cultural potential of 'disseminating' the Uffizi, supporting the project and making a substantial contribution to its success with the Fondazione CR Firenze”.