The Vasari Corridor takes its name from its creator, Giorgio Vasari , who built it just in 5 months, in 1565 . The Grand Duke Cosimo I commissioned it on the occasion of his son’s marriage with Joanna of Austria.

The Corridor is an elevated path that links Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti , seat of the court. It passes through the Uffizi Gallery and on the Ponte Vecchio . The Corridor was necessary to the member of the court to move freely, distant from people and dangers. It has also an opening on the church of Santa Felicita , from which the Grand Duke’s family could listen to the Mass.?

At that time, on the Ponte Vecchio, there was the meat market . It was moved and the goldsmiths ? that are still on the bridge ? arrived, because of the bad smells of the meat that rose to the Corridor.?

During the World War II ? when Nazis blew up all the bridges in Florence except the Ponte Vecchio ? the Corridor was the only way to go from North to South in town , and even partisans used it . Apparently the oldest bridge was spared ? but not the areas surrounding it ? because Hitler had been enchanted by a visit to the Vasari Corridor.

Nowadays the Corridor hosts the biggest collection of self-portrait in the world and it is part of the Uffizi Gallery. Visitors itinerary ends in Boboli Gardens , near the Grotta del Buontalenti .?