Michelangelo abducted. Masterpieces at war from the Uffizi to Casentino

Face to face with iconic works of art that, during the Second World War, found salvation in the Poppi Castle and are now returning to the ancient manor in an absolutely original way.

The exhibition reconstructs the incredible event that saw hundreds of works of art from the Uffizi and Florentine museums first rescued, then stolen by the Nazis and finally recovered.

The route – articulated in the castle courtyard and in the environment of the former stables – offers a compelling historical reconstruction of the vicissitudes of Tuscany’s artistic heritage during the war. The reconstruction is the result of careful archival and iconographic research that brings to light historical photographs, documents that have never been published, period films, with works of art, period photographs and films, and archival and bibliographic documents.

An immersive exhibition has been set up in the evocative rooms of the historic Rilliana library. While the Faun acts as an imaginary narrator, visitors can let themselves be enveloped by high-definition projections – on the walls and floor – of a series of works of extraordinary charm, with the possibility of discovering details that are normally not visible. Masterpieces inextricably linked to the Uffizi, such as Michelangelo’s Tondo Doni, Raphael’s Madonna of the Goldfinch, Leonardo’s Annunciation or Caravaggio’s Medusa, will be able to be admired in high definition and with evocative animations that ideally recreate the ‘forced’ museum present in Poppi during the years of the conflict. Visitors will be able to dialogue and interact with the works: the Mirror Room installation with its suggestive system of mirrors will allow them to take selfies with animated elements of the paintings in the exhibition.

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