The Vasari corridor
The Vasari Corridor was built in 5 months by order of Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici in 1565, under design by Giorgio Vasari. The work was commissioned in connection with the marriage of Cosimo's son, Francesco, with Johanna of Austria.
A reverse view of the section of the Corridoio, seen from Ponte Vecchio.The idea of an elevated path was motivated by the Grand Duke's exigence to move freely from their residence to the government palace, in a city in which his new consensus was not so solid after the abolition of the Republic of Florence. The meat market of Ponte Vecchio was moved to avoid the Grand Duke its smell at the passage, its place being taken by the goldsmith shops that still occupy the bridge. At the latter extremity, the corridor was forced to pass around the Mannelli's Tower, after the staunch opposition of that family to its destruction.
In the middle of Ponte Vecchio the corridor is characterized by a series of panoramic windows facing the Arno, in direction of the Ponte Santa Trinita. These replaced the smaller windows of the original construction in 1939, by order of Benito Mussolini.
After the Ponte Vecchio the Corridor passes over the loggiato of the church of Santa Felicita: in the at point it had a balcony, protected by a thick railing, facing the interior of the church, in order to allow the Grand Duke family to follow the celebrations without mixing with the populace.
In its Uffizi trait the Vasari Corridor is used as exhibition of the Portrait Gallery of the Museum collection.
