Record Rainfall Causes Damage at the Uffizi Gallery and Palazzo Pitti in Florence

Following heavy rainfall, a deluge flooded the Uffizi Gallery and Palazzo Pitti, both in Florence, Italy, on Thursday, reported Euro News. Both were impacted by a torrential downpour in which nearly two inches of rain fell in an hour in Florence.

At the Uffizi Gallery, there was a leak that appeared beneath a skylight in a room housing seven 17th-century paintings, including Caravaggio‘s Bacchus.

“The leak splashed the outer glass of the protective case containing Caravaggio’s Bacchus,” the museum explained in a statement. “No damage whatsoever has been found to any of the works. The room will be open to visitors as normal from opening time tomorrow morning.” (Corriere della Sera reported a different scene, writing that “the image of the 1598 oil on canvas appeared blurred and marked by long rivulets of water.”)

The Uffizi building, which houses a collection of works dating primarily from antiquity through the 18th century, was commissioned by Cosimo di Medici in the mid-16th century and designed by artist and writer Giorgio Vasari to house the city’s administrative and legal offices. The Uffizi Gallery is considered Florence’s premier art museum, with a collection of works dating primarily from antiquity through the 18th century.

Palazzo Pitti saw its Palatine Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art flooded with some exhibition areas closed. It is unclear how the water entered the inside of the historic Renaissance palace.