Uffizi

Italy’s landmark Vasari Corridor defaced by spray paint

The director of Florence's Uffizi Galleries called on Aug. 23 for stiff penalties against vandals who spray-painted graffiti on exterior columns of the Vasari Corridor connecting the famed museum to the Boboli Gardens.

Hours later, Italy's Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said the presumed vandals have been identified by Carabinieri police. He did not identify the suspects.

Jean Paul Gaultier sued by Uffizi in Botticelli bottoms row

The Uffizi museum in Florence said on Oct. 10 it was suing French fashion house Jean Paul Gaultier for "unauthorized use" of Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus," its Italian Renaissance masterpiece.

Painted by Sandro Botticelli in the mid-1480s, it shows the nude goddess Venus standing on a giant scallop shell, covering her loins with her long blonde hair.