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Italian gallery sends masterpieces to small villages to counter over-tourism

Paintings from the Uffizi have been loaned to museums in five villages in Tuscany - Paul Hahn/laif
Paintings from the Uffizi have been loaned to museums in five villages in Tuscany - Paul Hahn/laif

As Italy braces for the return of hordes of visitors this summer, the Uffizi Galleries in Florence have launched a bid to counteract over-tourism by lending out masterpieces to towns and villages in lesser-known parts of Tuscany.

Destinations such as Rome, Venice, Florence and the Amalfi Coast have long buckled under the pressure of visitors, with successive Italian governments at a loss on how to address the problem.

Now the Uffizi hopes to do its bit by spreading its visitors out, encouraging them to see world-class masterpieces in towns and villages that they would not normally venture to.

Italy’s best-known art museum on Tuesday launched an initiative called “Uffizi Diffusi” – it best translates as “Scattered Uffizi” but it is also a riff on the concept of “alberghi diffusi” – boutique hotels that occupy entire villages emptied by decades of depopulation.

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Paintings from the Uffizi have been loaned to museums in five villages in Tuscany – San Godenzo, Poppi, Montespertoli, Castiglion Fiorentino and Anghiari.

 Piero della Francesca's 1472-1475 "Portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino" - Vincenzo Pinto/AFP
Piero della Francesca's 1472-1475 "Portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino" - Vincenzo Pinto/AFP

The latter was the scene of a famous battle in 1440 between the armies of Florence and Milan.

It is the first stage of an initiative that will eventually lead to hundreds of artworks being loaned to dozens of locations.

Two of the five coming exhibitions relate to Dante – Italy is this year commemorating the 700th anniversary of his death.

The village of San Godenzo has been loaned a large portrait of Dante that was painted in the 15th century by a Renaissance artist, Andrea del Castagno.

The 8ft-high, 5ft-wide portrait, which depicts the author of The Divine Comedy dressed in a cloak and a red cap, was recently restored by experts from the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, a laboratory in Florence.

“This is a really important initiative for us,” said Emanuele Piani, the mayor of San Godenzo, noting that Dante spent time in the town before his exile from Tuscany.

“We’re taking works of art from the Uffizi out into Tuscany. It’s about promoting these artworks but also promoting the places where they are being shown,” said Eike Schmidt, the German director of the Uffizi.

“Within a few years, we hope that there won’t be places with too many people and other places with too few. We’re striving for a better balance. We want to transform the quality of tourism in this region.”

Early Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli's Birth of Venus, at the Uffizi Gallery museum - Luca Bruno /AP
Early Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli's Birth of Venus, at the Uffizi Gallery museum - Luca Bruno /AP

Scattering artworks around towns and villages in Tuscany would provide art lovers with “a magical mystery tour,” he said, quoting The Beatles. No mention was made of whether extra security would be provided for the priceless artworks.

Carlo Toni, the mayor of the hilltop town of Poppi, said it was “a great honour” to host works owned by the Uffizi. It was appropriate because his town can also boast close links with Dante, he said.

Italy is seeing a gradual return of tourists, most of them from EU countries. British visitors have been deterred by their obligation to quarantine once they return to the UK and, since Monday, the re-imposition of a five-day quarantine period when they arrive in Italy.

The quarantine stipulation was brought in by the Italian government amid rising concern for the spread of the delta variant in Britain. Rome has not said how long the regulation is likely to remain.