Uffizi Gallery unveils new arrangement for Botticelli's 'Birth of Venus' and 'Primavera'

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MILAN (AP) — Sandro Botticelli’s masterpieces “The Birth of Venus” and “Primavera” have been repositioned at the famed Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the latest effort to reshape how visitors experience two of the Italian Renaissance’s most celebrated masterpieces.

Starting Tuesday, visitors to Italy’s most popular museum will be able to view “The Birth of Venus” in one room and then turn around to see “Primavera” in an adjoining space on the opposite wall.

The update by Uffizi director Simone Verde, who took over in January 2024, marks a new phase in the ongoing renovation of the museum.

The Botticelli rooms “seek to present visitors with the Uffizi of the future, while keeping its feet firmly on the ground and its roots deeply planted in the history of this extraordinary museum,” Verde said.

Most recently, “The Birth of Venus” and “Primavera” were displayed on adjacent walls, allowing visitors to view both paintings at once. In previous decades, they hung on opposite walls in the same room, contributing to crowding and a difficult viewing experience.