Vasari Corrido to Open: Florence Walk between Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti

Florence, April 6 - A group of private investors said Monday it would open Florence's famous Vasari Corridor by 2013.

The group, Ser.Com, said it would spend five million euros overhauling the link between Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti and hiring staff to open it on a permanent basis.

Currently the corridor is only open to groups of up to 30, strictly by reservation.

The long-closed tunnel above the Ponte Vecchio was opened to visitors in March 2001 after previously only being accessible to art historians or other researchers.

The 750m-long corridor, built by Giorgio Vasari in 1565, provides a covered passageway from Palazzo Vecchio through the Uffizi Gallery, across the Ponte Vecchio to Palazzo Pitti, and offers unusual views of the city out of its round windows.

The Vasari Corrido was built so that the Medici's could walk in Florence from the Palazzo Vecchio to the Pitti Palace without mingling with the local Fiorentinos or Florentines. The Medici art collection decorated the corridor and is still hung with some 700 paintings of which one of the stars is the Venus of Urbino by Titian. It also contains works by Giotto, Paolo Uccello, Piero della Francesca and Leonardo da Vinci.

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Florence Map: Duomo to Trattoria Cibreo

From the Duomo to Trattoria Cibreo, via dei Macci, 118 R:


1) Walk east from Piazza Duomo to
Via dell'Oriuolo.
2) Via dell'Oriuolo to Via Pietrapiana
3) Right on Via dei Maccai to Trattoria Cibreo

To see video of Florence andTrattoria Cibreo video click WebVisionItaly.com

Florence Christmas - Santa Croce Christmas Market

Florence Italy Santa Croce Christmas Market

Where to Eat in Florence Italy

FLORENCE -- WHERE TO EAT

Florence is bursting with fabulous Tuscan restaurants, tucked in and around every corner. Ones we found memorable on our last trip included--

MUST EXPERIENCE-- Teatro del Sale, an Italian-style supper club, the marvel of Fabio Picchi, the founder of Cibreo Ristorante Firenze, Cibreo, Trattoria Cibreo, Cibreino, and Caffe Cibreo. Spectacular.

Reservations a must. Get there for the 7:30 opening, eat as you never have before. About 10, the show begins. Tell Fabio www.WebVisionItaly.com sent you and you may get a real treat!

La Hosteria da Mimmi -- beyond the Medici Chapel, is buzzing at lunchtime mostly locals [1pm-3pm]. Farro soup and pork roast are fabulous. Atmosphere just makes you want to eat, drink, and be merry all afternoon.

I Fratellini -- literally a hole-in-the-wall, on Via Cimiterio, 2 blocks from Piazza Signoria towards Piazza della Repubblica. Wondrous panini and wine. On-site over 100 years. Look for the photo of us above the bar.

OLTRARNO – stroll across the Arno at the Ponte Vecchio for:

Celestino -- about 150 feet on the left from the bridge; the Vasari Corridor goes over it. Ask for and tell the owner, Bruno, that WebVisionItaly.com sent you before you order. Bruno may then plan your lunch/dinner as he did for us: tagliarini with shaved truffles, bistecca alla fiorentina, macedonia di frutta, wine during the meal and vin santo at the conclusion. Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes.

Mamma Gina -- after crossing the Ponte Vecchio, take a right on Borgo San Iacopo and about 50 feet down on your left is Mamma Gina. Prides itself on giving its clientele an authentic Tuscan experience. Their wine cellar is amazing, as well as priced so that everyone can taste fine wines, not just the well-healed wine enthusiast. They believe eating is an entire experience. A truly fine-dining experience. Tell them www.WebVisionItaly.com sent you and you will be treated as family.

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The Florence Channel of www.WebVisionItaly.com Italy will be posting videos of our interviews at these eating places.

Books about Florence Italy

December 7, 2008, 12:00 PM


Florence

The Monster of Florence, a True Story by Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi (2008)

Heat...apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford (2006)

Cafe Life Florence: A Guidebook to The Cafes & Bars Of The Renaissance Treasure by Joe Wolff (2005)

The Food Lover's Guide to Florence: With Culinary Excursions in Tuscany by Emily Wise Miller (2007)

The Civilized Shopper's Guide to Florence by Louise Fili (2007)

The Renaissance by Paul Johnson (2000)

Florence, A Delicate Case by David Leavitt (2002)

Brunelleschi's Dome, How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture by Ross King (2000)

Leon Battista Alberti, Master Builder of the Italian Renaissance by Anthony Grafton (2000)

Il Gigante, Michelangelo, Florence and the David by Anton Gill (2002)

Dante by RWB Lewis (2001)

Dante In Love, The World’s Greatest Poem and How It Made History by Harriet Rubin (2004)

Giovanni Boccaccio Famous Women edited and translated by Virginia Brown (2001)

Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel (1999)

Niccolo's Smile, A biography of Machiavelli by Maurizio Viroli (1998)

A Room With a View by EM Forster (1908)




Guide Books

Access Florence Venice Milan by Richard Saul Wurman