One of the most beautiful mastepiece Florence can be proud of is the Vasari Corridor, an elevated passageway from Palazzo Vecchio towards Palazzo Pitti, passing through the Uffizi Gallery. Its path covers the Lungarno Archibusieri and Ponte Vecchio, and part of the façade of the Santa Felicita church too. Unfortunatelly, it is mostly closed to visitors.
The Corridor was built in just five months in 1564 by order of Cosimo I de’ Medici and designed by Giorgio Vasari. It was commissioned along with the marriage of Cosimo’s son, Francesco, with Johanna of Austria. Cosimo wanted this corridor in order to move freely between his residence and government palace, avoiding normal streets. At the time it was infact a common between rich families to feel insecure in public. The meat market of Ponte Vecchio was moved for the occasion because of its smell and in it was replaced by the goldsimth shops that you can still see on the bridge. Furthermore, the Corridor was forced to pass around the Mannelli’s Tower, after the opposition of that family to its destruction.
From the middle of Ponte Vecchio, the Corridor offers a suggestive view of the Arno and Ponte Santa Trinita; the windows that you can see nowadays were built for will of Benito Mussolini. It is also known that Hitler liked the visit to the Vasari Corridor; this fact saved Ponte Vecchio from distruction during the II World War.
In the Santa Felicita church the Corridor has a balcony where the Medici used to follow the mass without mixing with the populace.
In the Vasari Corridor a large and prestigious collection of portraits is showed.
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Walking around the duomo area, you have certainly seen the San Zanobi column, located just in front of the entrance of the baptistery. It is dedicated to the memory of a miracle done by San Zanobi, the first bishop of Florence. The story behind the column tells about January 27th, year 429, the date when San Zanobi’s remains were transferred from the Church of San Lorenzo, the first Cathedral of Florence founded in 390AD, to Piazza del Duomo where the new Cathedral of Santa Reparata was being constructed.
Actually, there is no church anymore. What we see going through the homonymus square is just an arch, the only thing that remains of the old building.
During spring and summertime, the Boboli gardens is one of the places that must absolutely be visited. Located across the Arno river, in the less turistic and more “real” part of Florence, these gardens extend directly behind the Pitti Palace. They were laid out for Eleonora di Toledo (the wife of Cosimo I dé Medici) one year after the Medici Family purchased the palace; with their perfect shapes and simmetry, the Boboli gardens represent the perfect example of the Renaissance garden.
Located in the Oltrarno, the part of the town across the river, this square is known all over the world for the magnificent view of the city landscape it offers – which is in fact reproduced in many postcards.
La “Loggia del Porcellino” – that means literally “The lodge of the piglet” – it’s a 16th century lodge, located just in the way between Piazza della Repubblica and Ponte Vecchio. As we can understand from its official name, “Loggia del Mercato Nuovo”, its function was – and still, is – the sale of goods. Walking there, you will be captured by the thousands of colours of the exposed bags, scarves and lots of other things.