The Vasari Corridor is one the most renowned secret passages in the world: since the late Renaissance it connects the Uffizi Gallery to the Pitti Palace.
Here we listed some curiosities and facts of this hidden passage of Florence!
1565 when the Grand Duke Cosimo I commissioned the corridor in connection with the marriage of his son Francesco with Johanna d’Austria;
5 months needed by architect Giorgio Vasari to build the Vasari Corrdor, which took its name;
1.000 meters is the lenght of this enclosed passageway connecting Palazzo Vecchio to Pitti Palace;
700 were the portraits of artists collected in the Vasari Corridor, making it one of the largest collections in the world;
3 are the segmental arches that are the basement of the Ponte Vecchio, whose innovative construction inspired the construction of the Rialto Bridge in Venice;
1593 when the Grand Dukes banned butchers’ shops from Ponte Vecchio, allowing only goldsmiths and jewelers;
4 are the monuments and buildings crossed by the enclosed passageway: Palazzo Vecchio, Uffizi Gallery, Ponte Vecchio, Santa Felicita Church and the Grotto of Buontalenti in the Boboli Gardens;
1 is the tower left from the construction: Torre dei Mannelli because the Mannelli family didn’t leave the house and Vasari had to build the corridor around the tower.
The Prince Passage from Palazzo Vecchio to Uffizi Gallery
The Path of the Prince is the beginning of the Vasari Corridor, commissioned to Giorgio Vasari in 1565 by the Grand Duke Cosimo I to connect the government palace (Palazzo Vecchio) to the public offices (Uffizi Gallery) and his residence in Oltrarno (Pitti Palace).
The initial part of the Vasari Corridor was closed to the public during the 19th century, and in more than 100 years it has been opened and used only for private and official ceremonies and events.
Vist the Vasari Corridor
The Varasi Corridor is now open to the public with a special ticket. Reservation in mandatory. Please check all the information here.
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