A masterpiece by Beato Angelico is being reassembled after many decades at the Uffizi Gallery: the ancient altarpiece with the Coronation of the Virgin. The painting has in fact just been reunited with its predella (depicting the Marriage and Funeral of the Virgin), since the end of World War II still kept in Florence, but in the Museo di San Marco. Visitors can now admire the work in its entirety in the Vasarian Museum. The altarpiece with the Coronation, Marriage and Funeral of the Virgin comes from the Florentine church of Sant'Egidio; its arrival at the Uffizi Gallery can be dated to around the early twentieth century. The fates of the panel and predella bifurcated after World War II: in order to protect it from bombings and raids by the Nazi army, the altarpiece was in fact taken out of Florence and safely moved to various secret locations, including the castle of Poppi and the Medici villa at Poggio a Caiano. When the conflict ended, the work was divided into two parts: the panel, which returned to the Uffizi, and the predella, which was sent to the San Marco Museum. Where it remains for decades; until yesterday's reunification.
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