Vasari Corridor

During your visit to Florence, you’ll almost certainly find yourself in Piazza Signoria, and you’ll be captivated by the beauty of Palazzo Vecchio. But you may not know that from this imposing building — now home to the city’s municipal offices and formerly the centre of Florentine power — begins an elevated passageway that winds through the Uffizi Gallery, runs alongside the Arno, passes through Ponte Vecchio as it crosses the river, and extends all the way to Palazzo Pitti.

This is the Vasari Corridor, an impressive structure commissioned by Cosimo I de’ Medici from Giorgio Vasari in 1565, on the occasion of his son Francesco’s marriage to Archduchess Joanna of Austria, and completed in approximately nine months. In this way, the Medici could move about in complete safety and without any risk to their wellbeing, between the seat of civic power — Palazzo Vecchio — and their residence — Palazzo Pitti.

Stretching approximately 750 metres, the Vasari Corridor now offers a unique panoramic walk above the heart of Florence, restored to its original simplicity after extensive renovation work: the walls, once decorated with the famous collection of self-portraits (now displayed in the Uffizi Galleries), now host a selection of ancient Greek and Roman marble inscriptions and antique sculptures, exactly as they originally did.

Visiting the Vasari Corridor

Visiting the Vasari Corridor is an unmissable experience for anyone coming to Florence: the opportunity to walk suspended above the city centre, with unique views of the Arno and Ponte Vecchio, is something unparalleled in the world. The corridor can be traversed in one direction only — from the Uffizi towards the Boboli Garden — and the visit takes approximately 45 to 60 minutes.

There are also references to the Mafia bombing on Via dei Georgofili that occurred in the night of 26 to 27 May 1993, in which five people lost their lives in a car explosion: Via dei Georgofili runs directly beneath a section of the Corridor, and the blast damaged several artworks.

Particularly beautiful is the section of the Corridor that passes through the Church of Santa Felicita, which you encounter after Ponte Vecchio. It’s noteworthy that as you walk through it, you overlook the interior of the church via a raised balcony positioned at the rear — a feature specifically requested by the Medici, who could thus attend Mass without being seen.

The route of the Vasari Corridor

The route begins from the first floor of the Uffizi Gallery, near the Cappellina Veneziana, and, crossing the narrow Via della Ninna via an elevated bridge, it runs through a “hidden” gallery situated on the top floor of the Uffizi. From here, a staircase descends through the arcaded loggia of the Lungarno degli Archibusieri, until it enters Ponte Vecchio.

Crossing the Arno via the bridge, the route curves around the Mannelli Tower — which the owning family refused to cede to the Medici, forcing Vasari to work around it using a system of corbelled projections — and, passing above Via de’ Bardi, it enters the Torre degli Obriachi, emerging onto Piazza Santa Felicita and passing in front of its namesake church, into which it opens via a balcony. At this point, the route is almost complete: before arriving at Palazzo Pitti, it crosses Via Guicciardini as far as the Boboli Garden, passing to the left of the Buontalenti Grotto. The exit is from the courtyard of Palazzo Pitti.

Tickets and practical information

The Vasari Corridor, closed since 2016 for extensive restoration work that cost approximately 11 million euros, reopened to the public on 21 December 2024. For the first time in its history, it’s accessible to all visitors — no longer only to small selected groups — and has been equipped with an integrated system of ramps, platforms and lifts that guarantees full accessibility for disabled visitors.

Access is via the first floor of the Uffizi Gallery and is included in a combined ticket costing €43 (Uffizi admission + Vasari supplement). Those who already have an Uffizi ticket can purchase the supplement alone for €20. Booking is mandatory: visits take place in groups of a maximum of 25 people, with departures every half-hour for a total of around 700 visitors per day. The Corridor is open from Tuesday to Sunday.

Interesting facts

As you pass over Ponte Vecchio, you’ll have the chance to admire the course of the Arno from the windows. It’s a unique view, simultaneously familiar — as it appears on thousands of postcards — and surprising for its close perspective. Contrary to a widespread legend, the windows were not opened by Mussolini for Hitler’s 1938 visit: recent historical research has shown that in that year the fascists merely plastered over the walls, and the side windows were only reopened in the post-war period, following the nineteenth-century layout.

When the Corridor was built, along Ponte Vecchio there were butchers’ shops and a meat and fish market. The foul smell of the area greatly disturbed Cosimo I, who decided to have the butchers relocated and replaced them with goldsmiths, who shortly opened their jewellery shops. This is why, even today, the shops along Ponte Vecchio are devoted to selling gold.

How to reach the Vasari Corridor

The entrance to the Vasari Corridor is located on the first floor of the Uffizi Gallery, at Piazzale degli Uffizi 6, in the heart of Florence’s historic centre. As it’s integrated with the Gallery’s route, there is no separate entrance: you must enter via the Uffizi and reach the access point indicated by internal signage.