Uffizi, Buontalenti's Cave reopens online to visitors in 3D

Closed since March due to anti-Covid19 restrictions, the Buontalenti Cave can be visited virtually and for free from the Uffizi Galleries website via any device. In fact, the Grotto has been digitized in high-definition 3D and the public will be able to visit it online, admiring every single detail of the artificial rocks and artworks, as well as walk inside.

Buontalenti’s Grotto, located in the Boboli Gardens, is one of the wonders of Mannerist art and architecture of the late 16th century, created to amaze and to give refreshment to those who entered; in each of the three rooms of this splendid corner of the Medici park, sculptures, frescoes and even fake stalactites can be admired. Click on the works to learn more historical and artistic information about them.

Of the grottoes in the Boboli Gardens, the Grotta Grande, or Buontalenti’s Grotto, is the best known. Giorgio Vasari created the lower part of the facade, while its construction was mainly overseen by Bernardo Buontalenti between 1583 and 1593, commissioned by Francesco I de’ Medici. The environment always amazes anyone who enters it: a masterpiece of Mannerist art, the Grotta Grande constitutes an original mixture of architecture, wall painting and sculpture. Until 1924 Michelangelo’s four unfinished Prisoners were located there, now replaced by plaster casts. Among the various works visible in its rooms, noteworthy, in the niches two sides of the entrance, are the statues of Ceres and Apollo by Baccio Bandinelli.

“Those who entered the Grotto in past centuries,” commented Uffizi Galleries director Eike Schmidt, “were immediately surprised by splashes of cool water that provided unexpected refreshment. Today, for various reasons, this ”joke“ is not possible, but the enchantment remains. For inside one is immediately greeted by sculptures of shepherds and goats, painted plants and animals, reliefs of strange creatures covered with lichens and fake sponges, as if grown in the humidity and shade. And then there are two of the most beautiful sculptures of Tuscan Mannerism: Vincenzo de’ Rossi’s Theseus and Helen-a pair of lovers entwined in the most tender of embraces-and Giambologna’s Venus, a hymn to the grace and beauty of the female body.”

Uffizi, Buontalenti's Cave reopens online to visitors in 3D

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.