The Corridoio Vasariano, more than one kilometer long and 3.50
mts large, was constructed, in only five months, by Giorgio
Vasari (Arezzo 1511-Firenze 1574), the Uffizi's architect, for initiative of the
granduke Cosimo de Medici in 1565 in occasion of the wedding of his son the prince
Francesco with Giovanna of Austria. It's a covered way which connects Palazzo Vecchio (Old
Palace) to Palazzo Pitti (Pitti Palace), passing through the Galleria degli Uffizi
(Gallery of the Uffizi) and crossing the River Arno above the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge).
It was imagined like a "comfortable" private way, in order to link Grand Duke
residence over Boboli Garden to the Uffizi (which means "the offices"), where
the Grand Duke worked. Another reason was to give the Medici family the possibility of
escaping in case of an uprising, or a discreet passage to move without being seen from the
outside. But it was not a secret passage but a symbol of the Mediceo power on the
city.
| At that time in Ponte Vecchio was the meat market, but as not to bother the Grand
Duke with bad smells while walking through the Corridor, the meat market was driven out
from the famous Ponte Vecchio, and was replaced by the jeweller shops, which are still
there today. In the Corridoio, today are exposed works from collections that are
part of the Gallery of the Uffizi, some unfortunately seriously damaged from the WWII
bombardments, the Florence alluvium of 1966, and the bomb of the Georgofili (1993). In the
collection are Italian painting (16th-17th) and the collection of selfs-portrait of
Italian and foreign artists, that is the greatest in the world, there are also many
portraits of illustrious personages of every age and country, that are part of the
iconographic section of the museum. |
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