More Italian windows today, from Florence, showing the Vasari Corridor. The pictures show the windows of this structure on the tops of the buildings as it makes its way through the streets and over the river. The Corridor was built in 1564 by Giorgio Vasari in only five months at the time of the wedding between Francesco I de' Medici and Giovanna of Austria; it served to link up the Pitti Palace, where the Grand Duke resided, with the Uffizi (or offices) where he worked.
It is a covered walk, almost a kilometre in length, an overhead passageway that starts out from the Uffizi, heads towards the Arno and then, raised up by huge arches, follows the river as far as the Ponte Vecchio, which it crosses by passing on top of the shops. The meat market on the bridge was at this time transferred elsewhere, so as not to offend the Grand Duke's sensitive nose with unpleasant smells on his walk, and replaced (from 1593) with the goldsmiths who continue to work there today.
On the other side of the Arno, the corridor passes through the interior of the church of Santa Felicita, down the tops of the houses and the gardens of the Guicciardini family until it finally reaches the Boboli gardens and the apartments in the Pitti Palace.
Vasari thus created a monumental urban "footpath" that took the absolute power of the ruler right into the historic heart of the city. In fact, a second corridor above Via della Ninna links the other side of the palace of the Uffizi with Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of Florentine government since the 13th century.
The Corridor was restored and reopened to the public in 1973 but can only be visited by appointment or in groups. Apart from the fact that the visitor can enjoy some magnificent and little-known views over the city from its round windows, the passageway contains over 1000 paintings, all dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as the important collection of self-portraits by some of the most famous masters of painting from the 16th to the 20th century.
Vasari Corridor
1 Starting point: the Palazzo Vecchio
2 The Uffizi, originally the offices, now a famous art gallery
3 The windows of the corridor carried on arches along the north bank of the river
4 The Ponte Vecchio: the windows in the middle of the bridge were enlarged by Mussolini in WWII so Hitler could see the panorama of the river. It is said he admired the view so much he ordered the bridge not to be bombed
5 On the Ponte Vecchio. The tall building on the far left is a medieveal tower - the corridor went through several of these on its way but the owners of this one refused to let it pass through and the builders had to go round it
6 The corridor built out round the tower
7 Nearing the end of the corridor
8 Final destination, the Pitti Palace