Gucci to finance 2mn restoration of Boboli Gardens

(ANSA) - Florence, April 4 - Gucci will donate two million euros to the Uffizi Gallery to restore and enhance Florence's Boboli Gardens park. The announcement was made on Tuesday by Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri, Uffizi Director Eike Schmidt and Florence Mayor Dario Nardella. For the first time, as part of the deal, the Gucci Cruise show will take place on May 29, 2018 in the Galleria Palatina of the iconic Palazzo Pitti, which maintains the world-famous gardens. The 'Boboli Spring' project, promoted by the Italian culture ministry under the aegis of the Florence city council, in partnership with the Uffizi Gallery, "will make the greenery of the garden thrive again and restore it to its status as the Italian Versailles," said Schmidt. Bizzarri noted that one million people visited the garden last year and he, too, said "we want to restore it to its place as the Versailles of Italy". The project had a "particular significance", he said, reflecting Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele's "cultural and aesthetic background", which finds in Renaissance Florence "an undying source of inspiration". Culture Minister Dario Franceschini hailed Gucci's "significant" investment, noting that fashion is part of Italy's cultural heritage. The Boboli Gardens (Italian: Giardino di Boboli) is a park behind Palazzo Pitti, that is home to a collection of sculptures dating from the 16th through the 18th centuries, with some Roman antiquities. It is one of the most famous gardens in Italy and a favourite spot for locals and tourists to picnic. Life in Italy

Rome's Spanish Steps Closed for Bulgari-funded makeover

ROME (AFP) - Rome's famous Spanish Steps closed to the public Wednesday for a restoration project funded by luxury jeweller Bulgari that is expected to last several months. Bulgari, bought in 2011 by French luxury giant LVMH, is putting €1.5 million (S$2.3 million) into the refurbishment. The 18th-century Baroque-style stairway, which has 144 steps, was last restored 20 years ago. The work, which will be carried out by local restorer Il Cenacolo, is expected to be finished by spring 2016, at which point the steps will be "restored to the whole world in all their beauty and splendour," Rome mayor Ignazio Marino said. The steps will be closed to pedestrians until Dec 7 - the start of a special Jubilee year expected to draw millions of Catholic pilgrims to Rome - after which a side ramp will be opened to allow access to tourists. "Rome has always been the number one source of inspiration for Bulgari, so it is right to give back to Rome what Rome has given Bulgari," the jeweller's CEO Jean-Christophe Babin said as work began. The work includes re-levelling the steps to repair natural wear and maintenance of the rainwater drainage system, as well as restoring the original lamps which illuminate the steps by night. The Spanish Steps, which links Bernini's "boat" fountain with the Trinita dei Monti church at the top, were made famous in the United States by the 1953 film Roman Holiday, starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. Bulgari pledged the money last year in response to a government plea for help in financing Italy's heritage monuments. The private sector is already helping restore other Unesco monuments: in Rome, luxury shoemaker Tod's is financing works at the Colosseum, while high-end fashion house Fendi is refurbishing the Trevi Fountain. The Straits Times Photo