- Title: Florence's landmark passageway over Ponte Vecchio reopens to public
- Date: 20th December 2024
- Summary: FLORENCE, ITALY (DECEMBER 19, 2024) (REUTERS) DRONE SHOT OF FLORENCE (MUTE) VARIOUS DRONE SHOTS OF PONTE VECCHIO (OLD BRIDGE) AND THE VASSARI CORRIDOR (MUTE) DRONE SHOT OF VASSARI CORRIDOR (MUTE) DRONE SHOT OF INTERIORS OF THE VASSARI CORRIDOR (MUTE) VARIOUS OF INTERIORS OF THE VASSARI CORRIDOR PEOPLE ON STREET / PONTE VECCHIO SEEN FROM THE WINDOW OF THE VASSARI CORRIDOR HEAD OF CURATORIAL DIVISION AT THE UFFIZI GALLERY, SIMONA PASQUINUCCI, LOOKING FROM THE WINDOW (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) HEAD OF CURATORIAL DIVISION AT THE UFFIZI GALLERY, SIMONA PASQUINUCCI, SAYING: "This was the Prince's path. It was the route taken by the Prince of Florence and was initially empty. On the other hand, this is the subsequent reflection: even the Uffizi were empty because they were offices." PONTE VECCHIO SEEN FROM THE WINDOW VIEW OF THE CORRIDOR (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) HEAD OF CURATORIAL DIVISION AT THE UFFIZI GALLERY, SIMONA PASQUINUCCI, SAYING: "The idea of starting to place the family's collections on the top floor of the palace—which was not yet completed when this corridor was finished— was a concept that developed during the process, not the original idea. The fact that this became a museum space was not part of the initial intentions of Vasari, who built it, nor of the Grand Duke, or Duke, who commissioned it at the time." VIEW OF THE VASSARI CORRIDOR WOMAN WALKING IN THE CORRIDOR HEAD OF UFFIZI GALLERIES, SIMONE VERDE, WALKING PAST (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) THE HEAD OF UFFIZI GALLERIES, SIMONE VERDE SAYING: "The opening is extremely important to us, primarily because it means returning to the public one of the most famous and dreamlike monumental places of the Renaissance. Furthermore, the corridor now allows us, for the first time, to make it universally accessible to the public—something that had never happened before. Previously, it was limited to selected groups, visits by reservation, and other restrictions. Now, it permanently and structurally connects the two poles of the Medici citadel of arts and culture." VARIOUS OF VIEW FROM THE WINDOW (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) THE HEAD OF UFFIZI GALLERIES, SIMONE VERDE SAYING: "Empty it was conceived, and empty it remained for about a century, during which it was used by the Grand Dukes of Tuscany to travel from one side of the Arno to the other within what was essentially the citadel of power where they operated." VIEW OF THE CORRIDOR AND VIEW FROM THE WINDOW VIEW FROM THE WINDOW VIEW OF THE CORRIDOR (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) THE HEAD OF UFFIZI GALLERIES, SIMONE VERDE SAYING: "The restoration work has ensured seismic safety and, above all, introduced systems for cooling and heating. Moreover, the restoration of this highly complex structure, which will continue to require ongoing care, is not yet finished. For example, we are proceeding with the restoration of the window frames; the interiors have been completed, and work is now being done on the external frames. Such a fragile structure, of course, will continue to require ongoing care." DRONE VIEW OF THE VASSARI CORRIDOR (MUTE) PEOPLE WALKING UNDER THE VASSARI CORRIDOR VARIOUS OF THE EXTERIORS OF THE VASSARI CORRIDOR VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING UNDER THE VASSARI CORRIDOR PONTE VECCHIO PEOPLE WALKING IN STREET / EXTERIORS OF THE VASSARI CORRIDOR
- Embargoed: 3rd January 2025 11:40
- Keywords: ART FLORENCE ITALY PONTE VECCHIO VASARI CORRIDOR
- Location: FLORENCE, ITALY
- City: FLORENCE, ITALY
- Country: Italy
- Topics: Art,Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Europe,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001840619122024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A Renaissance-era raised passageway that connects Florence's Uffizi Galleries to the Medici's former residence, Palazzo Pitti, will reopen to the public on Saturday (December 21), offering spectacular views of the historic Italian city.
The Vasari Corridor, named after Giorgio Vasari, the 16th century architect, painter and art historian who designed it, snakes its way through central Florence, passing over the Arno river via the Ponte Vecchio bridge, one of the city's landmarks.
The Uffizi museum, which manages the corridor and oversaw restoration and safety upgrades costing 11 million euros ($11.5 million), called it, in a statement, an "air tunnel" hovering over the heart of the city.
"The reopening is extremely important for us because ... it is about returning to the public one of the most famous and fabled monuments of the Renaissance," the head of the Uffizi Galleries, Simone Verde, told Reuters.
It was built in 1565, in just a few months, to allow Florence's rulers to move freely between their home and Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of government, passing also through the Uffizi Galleries.
The corridor, which had been closed since 2016, will open to groups of up to 25 people at a time, who can walk through it from the Uffizi to the Pitti's Boboli Gardens, crossing over the Arno from the right bank to the left.
In recent decades the passageway hosted the Uffizi's vast number of self-portraits, but in its newly restored state its walls were stripped of all paintings and left bare as they were five centuries ago.
Tickets for a combined visit to the corridor and the Uffizi, whose outstanding collection includes works by Giotto, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Titian and Botticelli, must be booked in advance and cost 43 euros ($44.60).($1 = 0.9644 euros)
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