Vandals paint the Vasari corridor in Florence

In the historic center of Florence, unknown people painted the Vasari Corridor, a covered gallery designed by Giorgio Vasari commissioned by Cosimo I de' Medici in 1565. The corridor connects the ancient palaces of Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti. This happened on the night of August 22-23, The Art Newspaper Russia reported, citing Italian media.

“According to our Italian colleagues from Il Giornale dell'Arte, on the columns of the gallery facing the Arno River, there were inscriptions made with black spray paint and making the abbreviation “Dks1860”, and others that looked like scribbles,” according to The Art Newspaper. Russia.

Director of the Uffizi Gallery Eike Schmidt in connection with the incident called for severe punishment of the vandals.

“Obviously, this is not an accident, but a deliberate gesture, and I remember that in the United States, for such cases, the court gave up to five years in prison. No more symbolic punishments and imaginary leniency!" — quotes the publication Schmidt, published in Corriere della Sera.

The Uffizi Gallery intends to remove the inscriptions of the vandals in the near future.

Since 1973, the Uffizi has exhibited self-portraits by artists in the Vasari Corridor, including those by Rembrandt and Giorgio de Chirico.

The Art Newspaper Russia recalls that in 1993 the mafia staged a terrorist attack that killed five people, and about a quarter of the paintings hanging in the Vasari corridor were damaged by shrapnel and fire. The gallery has recently been renovated.

“In 2016, the corridor was closed due to safety requirements and now, after a renovation costing €10 million, they plan to reopen it for visitors. The deadline has been pushed back several times. According to the latest information, this should happen this year,” The Art Newspaper Russia reported.