The Crane That Ruined Florence’s Skyline Is Gone

Europe|After 19 Years, Crane That Ruined Photos of Florence Is Finally Gone

For nearly two decades, the skyline of Florence, Italy’s most iconically Renaissance city, has showcased a majestic dome by the architect Brunelleschi, a striking bell tower by the artist Giotto, another 14th-century tower above City Hall — and a yellow, 197-foot crane towering over the Uffizi Galleries.

No more.

This week, the crane looming over one of the world’s greatest art museums was finally dismantled, to locals’ collective relief.

Carlo Francini, the official in charge of Florence’s municipal museums, called it “an important day for the city.” One local newspaper’s front page put it more bluntly: “Goodbye to the crane: the giant beached in front of the Uffizi.”

“We’re all happy,” said Giacomo Tempesta, an architect who came to the Uffizi on Monday as workers began deconstructing the crane. “For years it wasn’t possible to take a photograph that didn’t include the crane; it was a cumbersome presence. It was time that they took it down.”

The crane was hoisted in 2006 in the inner courtyard of the Uffizi as work began to expand the museum. And it just … stayed.

The museum, which is housed in an old Medici office complex and has an extraordinary collection, intended to expand its exhibition spaces and become more navigable for visitors. A lot of work has been done, but parts of the project are still underway.