Director Cecilie Hollberg announced recently that major construction works for essential renovations would begin in the Sala del Colosso at the Galleria dell’Accademia on October 5 and are expected to last until July 2021. The works will restore the structural architecture, consolidating the wooden structures of the room. They will also include a restyling that will involve a complete repainting and a new, modern lighting system designed to enhance the works on display. These works are following other extensive interventions taken earlier this year, as a new ventilation system was inaugurated on June 2.
A plaster cast of Giambologna’s Rape of the Sabine Women currently stands at the centre of the room
“I am very happy to finally be able to announce the opening of this new construction site which is part of the commitments I have taken on since I accepted the role of director of the Accademia Gallery in Florence.” Cecilie Hollberg states. “These are works of great importance, which will make it possible to resolve the serious structural problems of the eighteenth-century trusses of the Sala del Colosso, and more. The interventions will also concern the lighting and the set-up in order to make the most of the splendid, hardly visible paintings preserved in this environment that introduces the museum’s exhibition itinerary. “
In the first phase, the paintings will be dismounted, re-evaluated and their state of conservation documented. The works will subsequently be transferred to other rooms in the museum, normally dedicated to temporary exhibitions. Updates on the progress of the restoration will be released on the gallery’s social channels.
