Leonardo da Vinci's "The Annunciation"
ROME - Insured for 100 million euros (125 million dollars) and secured in a waterproof and fireproof case, the tempera on wood painting will leave Florence's Uffizi Gallery on Tuesday to be part of Japan's "Italian Spring" festival at the behest of Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli.
Uffizi director Antonio Natali could not bear to observe the departure of the painting, which he says is too fragile to travel abroad.
About 100 leading cultural figures joined in a bid to prevent the loan, and on Monday Senator Paolo Amato chained himself to a column at the gallery in protest, accusing Rutelli of "arrogance."
The culture minister "decided all by himself and without explaining why to anyone," Amato said, according to the ANSA news agency.
"The Annunciation," which measures 98 by 217 centimeters (38 by 85 inches) and was thought to have been painted around 1472-75, was taken down amid tight security early Monday and was to be accompanied by a team of police to Rome's Fiumicino airport.
The work has travelled on three previous occasions, but has not left the Uffizi since 1945, ANSA reported.
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