Del Moro's Staircase
The problem of an entrance to the Palatine Gallery had already been confronted for Leopoldo II by the Lorraine's architect Poccianti between 1831 and 1835 when he designed a large room on the piano nobile reached by a set of stairs of more modest dimensions. On 27 December 1831, the grand duke ordered the construction of the New Gallery, extending from the Pietro da Cortona rooms and the Rondeau annex. The work went on for a little more than three years, during which time the architect had arranged for the shipment of several columns and two large basins from the island of Giglio. He expected the room to house Canova's Venus and the group of figures, including Patroclus, today in the Loggia di Lanzi at the Piazza della Signoria.
The work was suspended in 1835, and the gallery entrance was covered by a temporary construction of wood until almost the end of the century. In 1892, the architect Luigi del Moro from Livorno was charged with reorganizing the room as a new entrance to the Palatine Gallery with a new, proper staircase. After the demolition of the wooden ceiling and a large part of the existing work that was deemed to be incompatible with the new project, the work continued expeditiously and the new project was completed in 1896.
Laura Baldini Guisti, "Lo Scalone Del Moro"; Palazzo Pitti: l'arte e la storia; Firenze; 2000-2003, p. 235.
The work was suspended in 1835, and the gallery entrance was covered by a temporary construction of wood until almost the end of the century. In 1892, the architect Luigi del Moro from Livorno was charged with reorganizing the room as a new entrance to the Palatine Gallery with a new, proper staircase. After the demolition of the wooden ceiling and a large part of the existing work that was deemed to be incompatible with the new project, the work continued expeditiously and the new project was completed in 1896.
Laura Baldini Guisti, "Lo Scalone Del Moro"; Palazzo Pitti: l'arte e la storia; Firenze; 2000-2003, p. 235.