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Smoke on Roof of Florence’s Uffizi Museum Sends 400 Tourists Fleeing

Authorities evacuated the home of Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus” in four minutes after black smoke started pouring out of rooftop vent. No fire was found.

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Sky Italia 24

By Barbie Latza Nadeau

Around 400 tourists and staff were evacuated from Florence’s renowned Uffizi museum in less than four minutes after black smoke started billowing from its rooftop on Wednesday. The smoke was a result of a chemical reaction in the ventilation system and not a fire, the museum said in a statement. The Uffizi reopened on April 26 after sporadic closures due to Italy’s COVID-19 restrictions. The museum—home to Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and countless other priceless works—later said the situation was “under control.”

Read it at Wanted in Rome

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