Vasari Corridor
The elevated pathway that connects the Palazzo Vecchio to the Pitti Palace in Florence
The Vasari Corridor is the extraordinary elevated passageway that connects the Palazzo Vecchio in Piazza della Signoria with Palazzo Pitti, on the other bank of the Arno. The Corridor runs along Lungarno degli Archibusieri, crossing Ponte Vecchio and even traverses a church before finally opening out into the Boboli Gardens, for a total of about 2500 feet (760 meters).
In 1565, on the occasion of the marriage of his son Francesco I to Joanna of Austria, Grand Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici commissioned his trusted artist and architect, Giorgio Vasari, to complete the project, which he managed to do in just five months. This extraordinary overhead passage was designed to allow members of the Medici family to move safely, without the need for escorts, from the government palace to their private residence, and vice-versa.
Among the consequences of the creation of the Corridor was the eviction from the Ponte Vecchio of the butchers who, prior to the construction, had their shops along the ‘Old Bridge’, having permission to toss their pungent offcuts directly into the river—a scenario (and a smell) that was soon deemed irreconcilable with the new and noble elevated passageway.
Just before reaching the Boboli Gardens, on the Oltrarno side of the Arno river, the Corridor passes through the Church of Santa Felicita. Members of the Medici family thus had the opportunity to gaze directly down into the church and attend mass without causing a fuss.
This straight path is “disturbed” only by the presence of a tower at one end of the Ponte Vecchio, being that of the Mannelli family, the only family powerful enough to successfully oppose the expropriation and demolition ordered by Cosimo I, forcing Vasari to find an alternative solution to (quite literally!) get around the obstacle.
All along the way, small windows offer unprecedented views of the city and the river. In contrast, the larger panoramic windows located in the central span of the Ponte Vecchio were built in 1938 at the request of Mussolini, on the occasion of Adolf Hitler’s official visit to Florence.
The 2024 reopening of the Vasari Corridor follows extensive restoration and safety works, to now form part of the Uffizi Gallery museum itinerary.
On the occasion of the reopening, the collection of self-portraits that once adorned its walls—one of the most important in the world—was removed. These paintings are now displayed in the new rooms on the second floor of the Uffizi.
