The Vasari Corridor is an extraordinary raised walkway connecting Palazzo Vecchio in piazza della Signoria with Palazzo Pitti on the other side of the Arno. It crosses Ponte Vecchio and the Boboli Gardens.
For his son Francesco’s marriage to Joanna of Austria, Grand Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici commissioned the construction of the walkway to Giorgio Vasari, architect of the Uffizi. The idea was for this “aerial walkway” to allow the Grand Dukes to move securely between their private residence and the government palace, without any need for escorts.
From the Corridor, you can take in an amazing view of the Arno and the Church of Santa Felicita: there is a window directly facing the interior of the church, which the Medici once used to observe services and ceremonies.
Currently the Vasari Corridor is an extension of the Uffizi Galleries: more than a thousand paintings are displayed inside, all completed between the XVII and XVIII centuries, along with an important collection of self-portraits by some of the most important artists from between the XVI and XX centuries, such as Filippo Lippi, Rembrandt, Velazquez, Delacroix and Ensor.
