Ponte Vecchio and Vasari Corridor
Stunning fireworks and reflections captured by Lapo
Our friend Lapo has allowed me to use some of his beautiful photos of travels in Italy, and, inspired by these photos of the ponte vecchio, I figured I should post something about this famous old bridge, over which runs the Vasari Corridor - below find information about reservations to get inside the Corridor.
City Panorama featuring the ponte vecchio (Lapo)
There has probably been a bridge at this narrow part of the Arno since Roman times; there is mention of a bridge in the year 996, but earlier versions often succumbed to the force of the water during occasional flooding. The current version was built in 1345 by Neri di Fioravante, with three strong arches in order to support buildings on either side, as if it were a continuation of the street that precedes it (Via Por San Maria).
Ponte Vecchio at Dusk (Lapo)
The particular wooden store fronts that spill out onto the walkway were first home to butchers and vegetable sellers, until, in 1593 the grand duke Ferdinand I de’ Medici decided that this was too smelly. The problem was that the famous VASARI CORRIDOR (that links the Palazzo Vecchio to the Boboli Gardens and Pitti Palace – a handy escape route for the family) passes over the tops of the then-butcher-shops: if you look at the top level of the bridge you can see an even row of square windows lined with pietra serena (grey stone). In order to not pass above odors of mature prosciutto and rotting greens, the Duke decided that the new occupants should be goldsmiths – more appropriate to the luxury of the ruling family.
The bridge gets to be extra “Old” as it is the only bridge to survive the German bombing of August 1944, perhaps due to widespread knowledge that the treasures of the Uffizi Gallery were “hidden” here in the corridor above.
UPDATED Nov 2009: For those interested, you can book a visit for 10+ people to the Vasari Corridor by sending an email request here (prenotazioni@operalab.it) or calling Firenze Musei – Opera Laboratori Fiorentini at +39 055 294883 or +39 055 2654321 (this second number is almost always busy!). Visits are Tuesday and Thursday at 9.00 and 11.30, and on Wednesday and Friday at 14.00 and 16.30.
The corridor houses the museum’s collection of artists’ self portraits, which artists have been sending them for free ever since word got out (and apparently, they have way too many to display even here). There are some charming views onto the ponte vecchio, too. I took these two photos during a visit a few years ago.
Through a little round window over ponte vecchio from Vasari's corridor
Looking down the corridor
