In March 1565, Cosimo I de' Medici commissioned Giorgio Vasari to design and build an elevated private corridor connecting the Palazzo Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti without passing through public streets. Vasari completed it by July 1565 — five months — for Francesco de' Medici's wedding celebrations. The corridor crosses the Arno via the Ponte Vecchio (above the jewellers' shops, whose upper floors are incorporated into the corridor structure) and contains approximately 700 self-portraits spanning the 16th through 20th centuries — the largest collection in the world. It has been under comprehensive renovation since 2016. Phased reopening began 2021; verify current access at uffizi.it before visiting. Florence guide →
Florence →Plan my Florence trip →Length: approximately 1 km | Built: 1565, by Giorgio Vasari, in 5 months | Route: Palazzo Vecchio → Uffizi → Ponte Vecchio → Boboli Garden → Palazzo Pitti | Original purpose: Private elevated walkway for the Medici family | Reopening: The corridor has been under renovation since 2016; phased reopening began in 2021, full restoration completion expected 2025–2026 — verify current access before visiting | Entry: Combined with Uffizi ticket, approximately €38–45
Giorgio Vasari — architect, painter, biographer of the Italian Renaissance artists (Le Vite, 1550 and 1568), and court artist to Cosimo I de' Medici — was given an extraordinary commission in 1564: design and build an elevated private passage connecting the Medici's administrative palace (Palazzo Vecchio, on the Piazza della Signoria) to their private residence (Palazzo Pitti, across the Arno in the Oltrarno), so that the duke and his court could move between the two without walking on public streets. Vasari completed the project in five months — from March to July 1565 — in time for the marriage celebrations of Francesco de' Medici and Joanna of Austria. The corridor is approximately 1 kilometre long, runs at second-floor level through the Uffizi gallery, traverses the Ponte Vecchio above the jewellers' shops (the shops' upper stories are literally incorporated into the corridor's structure), crosses a series of arched supports above the Via dei Bardi, and enters the Boboli Garden through the Buontalenti Grotto before reaching Palazzo Pitti.
The practical logic: in 1565 Florence, moving through the streets required interaction with crowds, exposure to assassination risk, and a loss of the ceremonial dignity the Medici court maintained carefully. The corridor allowed Cosimo I to move from government to home, from official reception to private life, without appearing in public at all. It also allowed the observation of public spaces from above without being seen — the windows of the corridor overlook the Ponte Vecchio and the Arno in both directions. Hitler famously walked the corridor during his 1938 state visit to Mussolini's Italy; the story is that Mussolini had the jewellers' shops on the Ponte Vecchio removed and replaced with goldsmiths specifically because Hitler found butchers' shops on a historic bridge inappropriate.
The corridor's walls were used by the Uffizi to display paintings that could not be accommodated in the main gallery. The collection displayed along the corridor route has historically included: the largest collection of self-portraits in the world — approximately 700 self-portraits spanning the 16th through 20th centuries, donated to the Uffizi by artists across European history, including self-portraits by Raphael, Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt, Velázquez, Bernini, and in the modern section Chagall, Dalí, and others. This collection was the primary visitor draw of the corridor in its pre-renovation phase. The self-portrait collection is being relocated during the renovation — some portraits are now in the main Uffizi galleries; the full disposition post-renovation is subject to the final curatorial decisions.
The corridor also offers specific architectural views: the interior of the space above the Ponte Vecchio (the corridor passes directly over the shops, with oval windows looking down to the river on both sides), the approach through the Buontalenti Grotto in the Boboli Garden, and the length of the passage itself — a long, slightly curved, well-lit space that gives a specific sense of the ducal scale of the Medici's relationship to their city.
The Vasari Corridor closed for comprehensive restoration in 2016, addressing structural issues, humidity damage to the artworks, and accessibility concerns. Phased reopening began in 2021 with the Ponte Vecchio section. The full corridor restoration was ongoing as of the ItalyPlanner knowledge cutoff; the projected completion timeline has been revised multiple times. Before planning a visit specifically for the Vasari Corridor, verify the current access status at the official Uffizi Galleries website (uffizi.it) — the opening situation changes by section and by season. Entry when open is typically via a combined Uffizi ticket; no separate Vasari Corridor-only ticket exists. Guided tour groups have had priority access during the phased reopening; book specifically through the Uffizi booking system for current availability. Florence guide →
The Vasari Corridor is a 1-kilometre elevated private walkway built in 1565 by Giorgio Vasari for Cosimo I de' Medici, connecting the Palazzo Vecchio (Medici administrative palace on Piazza della Signoria) to the Palazzo Pitti (private residence in Oltrarno) via the Uffizi gallery and across the Ponte Vecchio. Built in five months for the 1565 Medici-Habsburg wedding celebrations, it allowed the Medici family to move between government and home without appearing on public streets. The corridor's walls display approximately 700 self-portraits spanning the 16th–20th centuries — the largest such collection in the world — currently being relocated during the ongoing renovation.
The Vasari Corridor has been under renovation since 2016. A phased reopening began in 2021 with the Ponte Vecchio section; the full restoration completion was projected for 2025–2026, with timeline revisions. Before planning a visit specifically for the Vasari Corridor, verify the current access status at the official Uffizi Galleries website (uffizi.it) — the opening situation changes by section. Entry when open is via a combined Uffizi ticket (approximately €38–45); guided tour access has been the primary format during the phased reopening. Book specifically through the Uffizi booking system.
Vasari was given the commission in March 1565 and required to complete it by July 1565 for the marriage celebrations of Francesco de' Medici and Joanna of Austria — a fixed deadline with no flexibility. Cosimo I wanted the passage operational for the wedding, which required the entire Medici court to move between Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti multiple times for the ceremonies and banquets. Vasari achieved the timeline by employing a very large workforce simultaneously and by using existing building structures (incorporating the upper floors of the Ponte Vecchio shops and the Via dei Bardi buildings) into the corridor structure rather than building entirely from scratch.
The Vasari Corridor historically displayed approximately 700 self-portraits donated to the Uffizi by artists across 4 centuries — the largest collection of self-portraits in the world. The collection includes: Raphael (a 16th-century self-portrait of great delicacy), Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt, Velázquez (the only known self-portrait), Bernini, and in the modern section Chagall, Ensor, and Dalí. During the 2016–2026 renovation, the self-portrait collection has been relocated — some works are now in the main Uffizi galleries. The final disposition of the collection in the restored corridor is subject to curatorial decisions.
The Vasari Corridor crosses the Ponte Vecchio by passing over the existing shops on the bridge — the upper floors of the Ponte Vecchio's shop structures are literally incorporated into the corridor's structure. The corridor traverses the bridge at second-floor level, with oval windows on both sides looking down to the Arno below and giving views in both directions along the river. The jewellers' shops currently on the Ponte Vecchio replaced the original butchers and tanners' shops in 1593 (Ferdinando I de' Medici found the smell of the original occupants inappropriate for a corridor used by the court) — and again in 1938 when Mussolini reportedly had the remaining mixed traders replaced with goldsmiths specifically for Hitler's state visit.
The Vasari Corridor is accessible as an addition to the Uffizi Gallery main visit. The Uffizi itself contains the primary collection of Florentine Renaissance painting: Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera, Leonardo da Vinci's Annunciation, Raphael's portraits, Michelangelo's Doni Tondo, Caravaggio's Medusa and Sacrifice of Isaac, and major works from every period of Italian Renaissance and Baroque painting. The Uffizi visit (2.5–4 hours for the main galleries alone) should be planned before adding the corridor; the corridor is a supplement to the main gallery experience, not a substitute. Book the Uffizi timed-entry ticket in advance at uffizi.it.
Vasari Corridor entry is booked through the Uffizi Galleries official booking system (uffizi.it), not separately. During the phased reopening, guided tour access has been the primary format — specific corridor tour departures at set times included in the combined Uffizi + Corridor ticket. Check uffizi.it for current availability, open sections, and booking requirements. Guided tours in English and Italian. The corridor cannot be visited independently without a guide during the renovation period. No walk-in corridor access is currently available; all visits require advance booking through the Uffizi system.
Uffizi + Vasari Corridor + Ponte Vecchio + Palazzo Pitti — the Medici route across Florence in one day.
Plan my Florence trip →The Vasari Corridor's most famous content is not the architecture but the collection of approximately 700 self-portraits displayed along its walls — works donated to the Uffizi by artists from across Europe and across four centuries. The tradition of artist self-portrait donation to the Uffizi began in the 17th century with Cardinal Leopoldo de' Medici, who began systematically soliciting self-portraits from the leading artists of the time. The collection grew through subsequent directors and donors and now constitutes the largest collection of artists' self-portraits in the world.
The artists represented include: Raphael (a delicate early 16th-century self-portrait of significant rarity — Raphael's only universally accepted surviving self-portrait); Titian; Rubens; Rembrandt (one of several self-portraits, reflecting his known practice of using self-portraiture as a vehicle for exploring aging and expression); Velázquez (the only known surviving self-portrait of the Spanish master); Bernini; and in the 19th and 20th-century section, Ingres, Delacroix, Chagall, Ensor, and Dalí. The collection is being relocated during the renovation — some portraits have been moved to the main Uffizi galleries where they are currently on view.
Visitors who experienced the corridor before its 2016 closure describe the specific quality of the interior space: a long, straight, well-lit passage approximately 3–4 metres wide with windows on one side (the south side looking over the Arno), slightly curved in sections where the route follows the medieval street plan below, and lined wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling with paintings. The specific section over the Ponte Vecchio is the most dramatic: the oval windows on both sides of the bridge crossing give views east and west along the Arno, the river below visible through the glass with the bridge pavement on either side. The total walk from the Uffizi to Palazzo Pitti takes approximately 30–40 minutes at a considered pace including stopping to view the self-portraits. The corridor is not a fast-transit corridor but a gallery in motion.
The Vasari Corridor passes over the Ponte Vecchio at second-floor level — visitors inside the corridor look through oval windows on both sides down to the Arno below and out toward the river in both directions. You are physically above the bridge, not on it. The jewellers' shops on the Ponte Vecchio are below the corridor; their upper floors are incorporated into the corridor's structure. The Ponte Vecchio pedestrian surface (the bridge deck with the shops) is accessed separately from street level. During the corridor visit you experience the bridge from above rather than from within it.
During the German retreat from Florence in August 1944, the German military destroyed all bridges over the Arno in Florence except the Ponte Vecchio — reportedly on Hitler's personal order (Hitler had walked the bridge via the Vasari Corridor in 1938 and is said to have given specific instructions for its preservation). Instead of destroying the Ponte Vecchio, the Germans blocked access to it by demolishing the medieval buildings at both ends of the bridge. The Vasari Corridor survived the war intact. Allied bombing and German demolition damaged significant parts of Florence but the corridor and the Uffizi collection survived largely unharmed.
The Vasari Corridor was designed and built by Giorgio Vasari (1511–1574) — architect, painter, and the author of Le Vite (the biographical collection of Italian Renaissance artists, first published 1550, revised 1568, the foundational text of Italian art history). Vasari received the commission from Cosimo I de' Medici in March 1565 and completed it in five months. Brunelleschi (Filippo Brunelleschi, 1377–1446) designed the Duomo dome and the Ospedale degli Innocenti and other foundational Florentine Renaissance buildings — he died 120 years before the Vasari Corridor was built and had no connection to it.