“It is definitely not a farewell but just a goodbye,” he told reporters in the Tuscan regional capital on Saturday afternoon.
“Initially, and perhaps also in the long term, because I have my home in Florence,” he continued.
“Florence has grown in my heart over these years.
“I lived here in the 1990s, I met my wife [here], it’s a special city,” said Schmidt.
The German-born museum director said he had been “very moved” upon learning of the appointment by Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano to the direction of one of Italy’s most important museums.
“I was in the place of the patron saint of Naples, Saint Gennaro, I was moved to receive this lovely news,” he told reporters, adding that it is also a “success” for his achievement at the Uffizi.
“Without what I managed to do here together with my team it would not have been possible,” said Schmidt.
He took up direction of the world-famous Florence gallery in 2015 and is widely credited with improving the visitor experience and making it more accessible, as well as expanding the collection.
ANSA
