Overview

• A visitor tripped over distancing barriers on June 21, tearing the canvas of Anton Domenico Gabbiani’s 17th-century “Ritratto di Ferdinando de’ Medici gran principe di Toscana.”
• Conservators have deemed the damage reversible and the painting has been removed for a complex restoration process.
• Italian authorities have identified the tourist and will proceed with a formal denouncement under cultural heritage protection laws.
• Simone Verde said the Uffizi will enforce stricter rules on movement and photography to prevent similar incidents.
• The portrait, on loan from Palazzo Pitti for a temporary exhibition through late November, will return to display once restoration is complete.