{"id":49814,"date":"2025-06-10T11:47:29","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T15:47:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/florence-finally-to-be-rid-of-notorious-60-metre-crane-after-two-decades\/10\/06\/2025\/"},"modified":"2025-06-10T11:47:29","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T15:47:29","slug":"florence-finally-to-be-rid-of-notorious-60-metre-crane-after-two-decades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/florence-finally-to-be-rid-of-notorious-60-metre-crane-after-two-decades\/10\/06\/2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Florence finally to be rid of notorious 60-metre crane after two decades"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A giant crane that has blighted the skyline of Florence for almost 20 years is to finally be removed.<\/p>\n

The controversial structure, described as \u201ca metal monster\u201d, has stood in the centre of the Tuscan capital since 2006, when it was installed in a square opposite the Uffizi Galleries \u2013 famous for sublime artworks of the Italian renaissance \u2013 and tasked with doing the heavy lifting of materials during the initial phase of the museum\u2019s ongoing expansion.<\/p>\n

At more than 60 metres tall and visible from miles away, the crane was used less and less as the construction works dragged on, but there it remained despite numerous attempts to have it removed over its incongruity with the Florence landscape.<\/p>\n

Over time, the crane not only became a target of mockery, with an Instagram account<\/a> set up for the purpose, but also the ultimate symbol of Italy\u2019s notoriously sluggish bureaucracy.<\/p>\n

The main things holding back the crane\u2019s removal have been the huge cost and the permissions required from the various levels of authority.<\/p>\n

But after some of the city\u2019s entrepreneurs responded to an appeal by the Uffizi\u2019s exasperated director, Simone Verde, and clubbed together to cover the bill, the dismantling of the crane will finally begin on 16 June, culminating in a celebration on the terrace of the galleries\u2019 Loggia dei Lanzi on 21 June. Such is the importance of the occasion, the event will also be attended by Italy\u2019s culture minister, Alessandro Giuli.<\/p>\n

\u201cFlorence has been waiting for this moment for a long time,\u201d said Verde. \u201cThe metal monster is being removed and Florence\u2019s dazzling beauty can finally return intact and unviolated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Verde added that the \u201chavoc\u201d caused by the crane had been weighing on the city for far too long, and that he hoped the momentous occasion would mark the beginning of the end of \u201cthis cursed construction site\u201d.<\/p>\n

Part of the total \u20ac180,000 (\u00a3152,000) cost will also be used to replace the crane with a less invasive and more sustainable hoist, allowing the works to finally be completed without sullying the city\u2019s aesthetics.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis operation confirms that good administration can triumph despite everything,\u201d said Verde. \u201cIt also testifies that the Uffizi has the capacity to be a model for cultural efficiency and a true flag for Italy in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n