Uffizi tops the list with 1.7 million ticket sales last year.

The Uffizi in Florence was the most popular cultural site in Italy in 2021, coming ahead of the Colosseum and the Vatican Museums for the first time, according to rankings published by art newspaper Giornale dell'Arte.

With 1,721,637 visitors last year, the Uffizi pushed the Colosseum into second place with 1,633,436 visitors (in 2020 the Colosseum held the top spot with 1,085695 visitors).

The Uffizi also came ahead of the Vatican Museums which registered 1,612530 visitors in 2021 and Pompeii archaeological park with 1,037,766 ticket sales.

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The news was welcomed by Uffizi director Eike Schmidt who told the Corriere della Sera newspaper that the museum is "on the way up again" and that the result "bodes well for the future".

Paying tribute to the Uffizi staff, Schmidt cited three "decisive factors" in obtaining the top ranking: the new 16th-century rooms opened last May; the programme of exhibitions; and the museum's cultural offering on social media.

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The Uffizi also staged the most visited exhibition in Italy in 2021, with a show by the Italian Arte Povera artist Giuseppe Penone attracting 435,283 visitors.

The Uffizi is in 20th place in the list of global rankings which is topped by the Louvre in Paris with 2,825,000 visitors in 2021.

Photo credit: Hunter Bliss Images / Shutterstock.com.