The Vasari Corridor () is an elevated enclosed passageway in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, central

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, connecting the

Palazzo Vecchio The ( "Old Palace") is the town hall of Florence, Italy. It overlooks the , which holds a copy of Michelangelo's ''David'' statue, and the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi. Originally called the ''Palazzo della Signoria'', a ...

with the

Palazzo Pitti The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...

. Beginning on the south side of the Palazzo Vecchio, it joins the Uffizi Gallery and leaves on its south side, crossing the Lungarno degli Archibusieri, then following the north bank of the River Arno until it crosses the river at

Ponte Vecchio The Ponte Vecchio (; "Old Bridge") is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno, in Florence, Italy. The only bridge in Florence spared from destruction during World War II, it is noted for the shops built along it; ...

. At the time of construction, the corridor had to be built around the Torre dei Mannelli, using brackets, because the tower's owners refused to alter it. The corridor conceals part of the façade of the Church of Santa Felicità. It then snakes its way over rows of houses in the Oltrarno district, becoming narrower, to finally join the

. The corridor's full length is approximately one kilometre.

History and overview

The Vasari Corridor was built in five months by order of Duke

Cosimo I de' Medici Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second and last duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first grand duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Cosimo I succeeded his cousin to the duchy. ...

in 1565, to the design of

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work ''Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ideol ...

. It was commissioned in connection with the marriage of Cosimo's son,

Francesco Francesco, the Italian language, Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis (given name), Francis", is one of the List of most popular given names, most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name inclu ...

, with Johanna of Austria. The idea of an enclosed passageway was motivated by the Grand Duke's desire to move freely between his residence and the government palace, when, like most monarchs of the period, he felt insecure in public, in his case especially because he had replaced the

Republic of Florence The Republic of Florence (; Old Italian: ), known officially as the Florentine Republic, was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany, Italy. The republic originated in 1115, when the Flor ...

. The meat market of Ponte Vecchio was moved to avoid its smell reaching into the passage, and its place taken by the goldsmith shops that still occupy the bridge. At the latter extremity, the corridor was forced to pass around the Mannelli Tower, after the staunch opposition of that family to its destruction. In the middle of Ponte Vecchio, the corridor is characterized by a series of panoramic windows facing the

Arno The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber. Source and route The river originates on Monte Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and initially takes a sou ...

, in the direction of the Ponte Santa Trinita. After the Ponte Vecchio the corridor passes over the

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...

to of the church of Santa Felicita; at that point it had a balcony, protected by a thick railing, looking into the interior of the church, to allow the Grand Duke's family to follow services without mixing with the populace. In 2016 the corridor was closed for safety reasons. The corridor was reopened on 21 December 2024.

Incidents

The area closest to the Uffizi entrance was heavily damaged by a bombing commissioned by the Sicilian Mafia on the night of 27 May 1993. When a car bomb was detonated next to the Torre dei Pulci, between via Lambertesca and via de' Georgofili, this section of the Uffizi Gallery was among the buildings damaged, and several artworks in the corridor were destroyed. These paintings, some irreparably damaged, have been pieced back together and returned to their original positions to serve as a reminder of the event. In August 2023, graffiti was found spray-painted on seven pilasters of the corridor. Authorities accused two German tourists of being responsible, while the Italian Ministry of Culture said repairs would cost 10,000 euros ($10,811).

Gallery

File:Firenze.Arno.jpg, The ''Corridoio'' seen from the

File:"Ein Meisterwerk mittelalterlicher Ingenieurskunst. 07.jpg, Vasari's tile-roofed ''Corridoio'' running from the

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery ( ; , ) is a prominent art museum adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of th ...

(right), above the river bank and across the

on its way to link to the

File:IMG PonteVecchio.JPG, Street view of the

as seen from the Vasari Corridor

References

External links

* {{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1564 Buildings and structures in Florence Giorgio Vasari buildings Skyways Uffizi Oltrarno

History and overview

Incidents

Gallery

See also

References

External links