The Lorena Staircase at the Uffizi Galleries has reopened to visitors after eight years of closure for structural works. Visitors can now see the historic monumental entrance to one of Italy’s most important museums.
The staircase, designed in the late 18th century, was carefully renovated to reflect its appearance in 1769, when Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo of Lorraine opened the gallery to the public on 24 June, the feast of Saint John, Florence’s patron saint.
That decision placed the Uffizi among the first museums in the world to adopt a modern public function, transforming the former Medici collections into a civic institution.
A neoclassical landmark
The Lorena Staircase was designed by architect Zanobi del Rosso, who served at the Lorraine court. It is regarded as a significant example of late 18th-century neoclassical architecture in Florence.
At the foot of the staircase, visitors can once again see the Latin inscription dedicated to Pietro Leopoldo, commemorating his reorganisation and expansion of the collections originally assembled by the Medici dynasty. Above the inscription stands an 18th-century bust of the grand duke by sculptor Francesco Carradori.
At the top of the staircase, newly reinstalled busts of the Medici grand dukes are displayed on large wooden supports. A large polychrome wooden coat of arms by Baccio d’Agnolo dominates the marble decoration above, reinforcing the link between the gallery’s origins and Florence’s ruling families.
Structural consolidation
The staircase had been closed since 2018 after engineers identified the need to consolidate the wooden structural elements supporting its vaults. The most recent intervention focused on stabilising and reinforcing the internal wooden framework to ensure long-term safety.
An earlier restoration campaign between 2005 and 2007 addressed plasterwork, stucco and decorative details. During that phase, the walls were repainted in “Lorena green”, a colour identified through stratigraphic analysis as the original shade used under the Lorraine rulers and found in other areas of the complex.
The reopening marks the conclusion of another major construction project at the Uffizi. In recent months, the museum has also reopened the Vasari Corridor, the elevated passage connecting the Uffizi to Palazzo Pitti. They also removed a large crane that had stood in the square outside the complex for nearly two decades during ongoing renovation works.
