A woman takes a picture of the painting "Portrait of Gabrielle d'Estrees and one of her sisters bathing" by School of Fontainebleau during the inauguration of fourteen new rooms dedicated to 16th and 17th century painters, at the Uffizi Gallery Museum in Florence, Italy, May 29, 2019. Picture taken May 29, 2019. Opera Laboratori Fiorentini/Handout via REUTERS

A woman looks at paintings during the inauguration of fourteen new rooms dedicated to 16th and 17th century painters, at the Uffizi Gallery Museum in Florence, Italy, May 29, 2019. Picture taken May 29, 2019. Opera Laboratori Fiorentini/Handout via REUTERS

A woman looks at the paintings "Portrait of Bartolomeo Panciatichi" and "Portrait of Lucrezia Panciatichi" by Bronzino during the inauguration of fourteen new rooms dedicated to 16th and 17th century painters, at the Uffizi Gallery Museum in Florence, Italy, May 29, 2019. Picture taken May 29, 2019. Opera Laboratori Fiorentini/Handout via REUTERS

A woman looks at the painting "The naked woman" by Bernardino Licinio during the inauguration of fourteen new rooms dedicated to 16th and 17th century painters, at the Uffizi Gallery Museum in Florence, Italy, May 29, 2019. Picture taken May 29, 2019. Opera Laboratori Fiorentini/Handout via REUTERS

A woman looks at the painting "Leda and the Swan" by Jacopo Tintoretto during the inauguration of fourteen new rooms dedicated to 16th and 17th century painters, at the Uffizi Gallery Museum in Florence, Italy, May 29, 2019. Picture taken May 29, 2019. Opera Laboratori Fiorentini/Handout via REUTERS

A woman looks at the painting "Virgin of the People" (also known as Madonna del Popolo) by Federico Barocci during the inauguration of fourteen new rooms dedicated to 16th and 17th century painters, at the Uffizi Gallery Museum in Florence, Italy, May 29, 2019. Picture taken May 29, 2019. Opera Laboratori Fiorentini/Handout via REUTERS

A woman looks at the painting "Portrait of Ortensia de Bardi di Montauto" by Alessandro Allori during the inauguration of fourteen new rooms dedicated to 16th and 17th century painters, at the Uffizi Gallery Museum in Florence, Italy, May 29, 2019. Picture taken May 29, 2019. Opera Laboratori Fiorentini/Handout via REUTERS

A woman looks at the painting "Leda and the Swan" by Jacopo Tintoretto during the inauguration of fourteen new rooms dedicated to 16th and 17th century painters, at the Uffizi Gallery Museum in Florence, Italy, May 29, 2019. Picture taken May 29, 2019. Opera Laboratori Fiorentini/Handout via REUTERS

A woman looks at the painting "The honesty of Saint Eligio" by Jacopo Chimenti during the inauguration of fourteen new rooms dedicated to 16th and 17th century painters, at the Uffizi Gallery Museum in Florence, Italy, May 29, 2019. Picture taken May 29, 2019. Opera Laboratori Fiorentini/Handout via REUTERS

A woman looks at the painting "Portrait of Caterina Coronaro as Saint Catherine of Alexandria" by Titian during the inauguration of fourteen new rooms dedicated to 16th and 17th century painters, at the Uffizi Gallery Museum in Florence, Italy, May 29, 2019. Picture taken May 29, 2019. Opera Laboratori Fiorentini/Handout via REUTERS

A woman looks at the painting "Venus of Urbino" by Titian, during the inauguration of fourteen new rooms dedicated to 16th and 17th century painters, at the Uffizi Gallery Museum in Florence, Italy, May 29, 2019. Picture taken May 29, 2019. Opera Laboratori Fiorentini/Handout via REUTERS

Director of the Uffizi Gallery Museum Eike Schmidt poses in front of the painting "Venus of Urbino" by Titian the day before the inauguration of fourteen new rooms dedicated to 16th and 17th century painters, at the Uffizi Gallery Museum in Florence, Italy, May 28, 2019. Picture taken May 28, 2019. Opera Laboratori Fiorentini/Handout via REUTERS

Italy's Uffizi opens 14 new rooms for Venice and Florence painters

FLORENCE (Reuters) - Italy's Uffizi gallery is opening new rooms dedicated to 16th and 17th century painters, following nearly a year of renovation carried out with the help of private donors.

The 14 new rooms, spanning over 1,100 square meters (11,840.3 square feet), will host 105 art works by Venice and Florence artists, including Titian and Tintoretto. The pieces were stored in the museum's warehouses, and about a third had not been exhibited to the public for several years.

"All these great masters are back on view here in the Uffizi in new spacious halls where we can have many visitors to admire them", said Uffizi director Eike Schmidt.

"It is as if a second, new museum had opened inside the gallery," he added.

Titian's Venus of Urbino hangs in a room with two other paintings and is among the most celebrated canvas on display in the new section of the Florence art gallery.

The colours of the renovated rooms were chosen to represent the works they host: green, inspired by the drapery and wall hangings seen in numerous Venetian Renaissance paintings, and dark grey for the Florence school, echoing the stones used to build the famed gallery itself.

Federico Barocci's huge Virgin of the People (also known as Madonna del Popolo) has been placed in the Hall of Pillar, whose light-painted walls recall the atmosphere of a church. The room hosts a collection of altar pieces of the counter-reformation period.

The total cost of the renovation was around 700,000 euros ($780,000). The amount includes $100,000 for the Venus of Urbino room donated by the non-profit association Friends of the Uffizi Galleries.

An individual member of the association, named Trish Savides, contributed $15,000 to the renovation of Lorenzo Lotto's Holy Family.

($1 = 0.8977 euros)

Reuters India