(ANSAmed) - FLORENCE, MAY 22 - The Uffizi Gallery will
shortly open ten new spaces, dedicated to 16th-century painters,
mainly from Tuscany, from Andrea del Sarto to Bronzino and
Raffaello. There will also be a gallery with Hellenistic
sculptures. The new spaces, a statement reads, will open ''in
the coming months." The statues that will be exhibited include
Boy with Thorn (Roman art), the Aphrodite (Hellenistic art),
also known as Toilet of Venus, and the Torso, showing a centaur
with its hands tied behind its back, also known as 'Torso
Gaddi', the Farnese Hercules (Roman art, 2nd century A.D.),
already present in the Gallery. Moreover, the new gallery of
sculptures will also show the Citharist Apollo, Dionysus with
panther, a Niobide and a Head of Arianne, coming from the
archaeological museum in the Tuscan capital.
''We hope we will be able to move these pieces without causing
too much inconvenience to our visitors,'' said Uffizi director
Antonio Natali. ''At the moment all I can say is that normally
large museums close down in these situations. If not completely,
at least several sectors. I don't know if we will be able to
keep the Gallery open to the public, but we will try, as we have
agreed with our colleagues of the Monuments and Arts Office."
(ANSAmed).
