When
a workman accidentally stepped in the wrong place at the wrong time, a chunk of
sixteenth-century fresco fell to the floor and on top of a statue beneath it.
The
30-centimetre piece of fresco, part of a section of ceiling in the long main
corridor within the gallery, became detached due to work being done on the roof
above. The misstep took place ‘during the normal maintenance of the roof of the
First Corridor of the Uffizi Gallery,’ explained head of the Polo Museale
Fiorentino, Cristina Acidini, causing plaster to fall.
Luckily,
the incident did not occur in a central location, and, because work was
underway, visitors were already blocked from the area, and no one was hit with
falling plaster.
Remnants
of the fresco were collected by restorer Laura Lucioli and restoration work
began on February 6; it is expected to take 10 days, gallery officials report.
