Uffizi display space. As well, a new exit was planned and the lighting, air conditioning and security systems were updated. During construction, the museum remained open, although rooms were closed as necessary with the artwork temporarily moved to another location. For example, the Botticelli rooms and two others with early Renaissance paintings were closed for 15 months but reopened in October 2016. The major modernization project, New Uffizi, had increased viewing capacity to 101 rooms by late 2016 by expanding into areas previously used by the Florence State Archive. The Uffizi hosted over two million visitors in 2016, making it the
Friends of the Uffizi Gallery priority by the Uffizi Gallery have been completed with funds raised by both Friends of the Uffizi Gallery and Amici degli Uffizi. The Michelangelo Room, which opened to the public on January 29, 2013, is an example of a completed project by this organization. The Friends of the Uffizi Gallery and the Amici degli Uffizi funded the re-construction of this room on the second floor and the re-installation of the paintings. The re-construction involved restoring the original marble floor and re-plastering the walls and painting them red. The re-installation included Michelangelo’s "Tondo Doni" (ca. 1507 oil and tempera on panel)