A colony of common furniture beetles has infested a large number of paintings and pieces of art at the Uffizi gallery of art in Florence, Italy.

So far gallery officials have found 96 works of art to have been affected by the beetles, known in latin as Anobium Punctatum.

According to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, masterpieces that have been damaged by the insects include Paolo Ucello's Battle of San Romano (pictured) and Hugo van der Goes's Portinari, widely recognised as the Dutch master's most famous existing work.

"We have a long and exhausting battle on our hands," said Cristina Acidini, director of the museum.

First opened as an art gallery in 1756, the Uffizi has suffered a number of setbacks during its recent history. In August 2007 the gallery was partially flooded due to a heavy storm. In 1993, a car bomb damaged parts of the gallery and killed five people.