Florence, 14th September 2015 - The recently renovated rooms in the Uffizi Gallery displaying late fifteenth century art were unveiled today in Florence. Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. made the renovations possible with a donation of €600 thousand, in accordance with an agreement signed on 12th May 2014. The eight rooms will open to visitors on Tuesday 15th September and will display 43 works of art (42 paintings and one sculpture) from the second half of the fifteenth century.

“It is a great honour for the Ferragamo family and the entire company to have participated in this project,” noted Ferruccio Ferragamo during the presentation. “The Salvatore Ferragamo company was founded in the city of Florence and has grown here, gaining worldwide recognition and impetus from the local culture. Sponsoring this important chapter in the Uffizi’s history is yet another way for us to express our gratitude to the city and its people.”

The renovation involved eight rooms in the Uffizi Gallery (rooms 25 to 32), which held the Medici foundry in the last two decades of the sixteenth century. Before the renovation, these rooms held 16th century Florentine, Veneto, Emilian and Lombard paintings by artists like Michelangelo and Lotto.

To renovate the existing rooms by upgrading the systems, work was carried out on the air treatment (air conditioners) and security (motion detectors, infrared detectors and video cameras) systems, the flooring was restored where necessary and a new lighting system was installed. The work involved the oldest areas of the Uffizi overlooking the river Arno. The rooms, which are now equipped with the most cutting edge systems to best preserve and display the artwork, were specifically selected to maintain the look of traditional beaux arts museums, with skylights in the centre of the ceilings.

The Salvatore Ferragamo brand, an Italian style icon, has provided generous funding to the Superintendency of the Polo Museale Fiorentino for one of Florence’s finest gems, the Uffizi Gallery, furthering the brand’s longstanding tradition as a patron of the arts and strengthening the virtuous partnership between the public sector and private donors, now a key strategy in upholding Italy’s unparalleled culture and arts.
Since it was founded, the Florentine brand has stood apart for its ability to combine a tradition The Uffizi see the renovation of eight gallery rooms devoted to the second half of the fifteenth century with a donation from Ferragamo of excellent craftsmanship with experimentation and innovation in manufacturing techniques and style, creating luxury goods that embody the very finest qualities of Made in Italy products. Close dialogue with the world of art, cinema and culture has always played an integral part of the brand’s history and image.
It was not by coincidence that Salvatore Ferragamo, when he returned to Italy from the US in 1927, chose to live in Florence, with its rich artistic and artisanal background. Here, in the city of the Lily, he established his business on the banks of the river Arno and forged an intense, long-lasting partnership with the area. Ferragamo collections, the epitome of Italian tradition and creative genius, still showcase Florentine materials, particularly lace from Tavernelle, straw and raffia, all of which the brand’s founder was very fond.
The company’s growth and the brand’s development owe much to the cultural heritage and tradition of fine craftsmanship found in Tuscany and in Florence in particular. This relationship has grown stronger over time, with the establishment of Museo Salvatore Ferragamo, which has often shown artwork from other Florentine museums in its exhibitions. After having sponsored several restoration projects in city squares and on the Santa Trinita Bridge, along with a number of cultural initiatives, Ferragamo was a proud partner of the Polo Museale Fiorentino’s Educational Division in its “Fairy Tale Museum” program for families. And now, Salvatore Ferragamo has once again decided to celebrate its ties to the local area and people with this generous donation to fund the restoration of eight rooms in the Uffizi Gallery.