Florence, Two!
Our next adventure was a tour of the Vasari Corridor. I’ve always wanted to visit the corridor which begins at the Palazzo Vecchio, winds through the Uffizzi Gallery, along the Ponte Vecchio and ends at the Palazzo Pitti across the Arno River. The passageway was the idea of Grand Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici in 1564 and was motivated by the Grand Duke’s desire to move freely between his residence and the government palace without interacting with the people. He commissioned Giorgio Vasari, the Italian painter, historian and architect, to create a design.
On the guided tour, we were told the corridor’s history and were cautioned by a Uffizi Gallery guard not to take any photos in or of the corridor. She accompanied us every step of the way and only allowed photos taken out the windows. Along the winding corridor, we saw an extensive collection of self-portrait paintings.
The Grand Duke appropriated private property for his corridor and built across the facade of the Church of Santa Felicita. A corridor window looks into the church and the Duke and his family could attend mass and not be seen by the public. Sorry, no photos through this particular window. It was fascinating to see familiar locations from a completely different vantage point.
What hidden treasures have you discovered in Florence?
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December 7, 2011 at 12:45 pm
As usual your point of view is elegant and beautiful. The comment about not being able to take photos make me itch to take a photo ( reverse phsycology?) and also to see it for my self. So why couldn’t you take pictures? Is it still private property of the Dukes ( new Duke that is)?