Secret passageway through one of Italy’s most famous cityscapes opens to public for first time

Florence, Italy (CNN) — It was built as a secret passageway for the elite of Florence to pass undetected, far from the regular citizens.

Now, for the first time in history, the Corridoio Vasariano, or Vasari Corridor, has opened to the general public.

Less a corridor, more a private walking trail through the center of Florence, the 750-meter (2,460-foot) space was designed for the ruling Medici dynasty in 1565 by artist and architect Giorgio Vasari.

The trail — built in just five months for Cosimo I de’ Medici — connects Florence’s three most famous sites: the Palazzo Vecchio (the city’s political center), the Uffizi Galleries (once the rulers’ offices, or “uffici”) and Palazzo Pitti, where the family lived. The walkway allowed them to travel between home and the office, without being disturbed by the general public or attacked by their enemies.

Today, it offers a “secret” passageway through some of the best known areas of Florence with striking views, but none of the crowds you’ll find outside. As crowds form a logjam along the Ponte Vecchio — Florence’s famous, shop-fringed medieval bridge — those in the corridor will skirt blissfully over them, enjoying the same views of the city, but none of the chaos.

The corridor’s views are thanks to its elevation — the walkway runs on top of buildings, palazzos, towers — and even along the top of the Ponte Vecchio.

The main stretch of the corridor, running from the Uffizi to the Boboli Gardens outside Palazzo Pitti, opened to the public on Friday. It’s the first time in history that regular people have been able to access it. For centuries it was the private rat-run of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany — not even members of their staff could walk through it.

In recent decades it was opened up to those willing to pay a hefty fee for exclusive access, but in 2016 it closed for health and safety reasons. Now, those who buy a 20-euro ticket will be accompanied in groups of 25. While they will keep walking, there will be time built in for photo opportunities.

The corridor runs from the second floor of the Uffizi, where a door tips visitors down 58 steps into a frescoed, high-ceilinged space. From there it descends again to become the corridor: a covered walkway, paved in terracotta bricks, with porthole windows overlooking the streets to the right, and large square windows every four feet or so, overlooking the river Arno.

It then runs along the top of the Ponte Vecchio, with a set of panoramic windows halfway across, which were added by dictator Benito Mussolini — who was to escort an enraptured Adolf Hitler through the corridor. Hitler later spared the Ponte Vecchio while he destroyed all the other Florence bridges during World War II.

Leaving the Ponte Vecchio, the corridor then wraps round a medieval tower, through the eaves of a church, and out into the Boboli Gardens, beside the Grotta del Buontalenti, a 16th-century water feature. Visitors will then be escorted to the Palazzo Pitti, where they can either continue their visit alone (with a ticket) or leave through the grand courtyard.

There are a total of 106 steps to descend during the trip, though there’s no need to climb them again, and there are stair-lifts for those with disabilities.

‘A trip to a vision of the world’

Uffizi director Simone Verde told CNN that the corridor was a “mythical place for the Western world” that had previously been “open to few.” It was the fulcrum connecting the Medici’s “citadel” within Florence, he said, calling it a “parallel city within the city.”

He added that the building of the corridor, which was modeled on two similar structures in Rome, spoke to the importance of culture to the Medici’s political project. “This was new to the Renaissance — the cultural element of government,” he said. “The culture created here was the motor for all the courts of modern Europe.” A visit to the revamped corridor, he said, “isn’t just a fantastic destination, but a trip to a vision of the world.”

While in the past the corridor was stuffed with over 1,000 artworks from the 18th century onwards, including a vast collection of self-portraits, today the walls are bare — recreating the feel of the original 1500s structure. Verde hinted that he will eventually hang artworks inside at a later date.

For now, visitors will enjoy the views of the city from an angle that only the elite have ever enjoyed, as they peer through hotel and office windows, walk on top of the crowds on the Ponte Vecchio, and spy into the church of Santa Felicita, unseen by anyone down below, as the Medici once did.

There are no panels explaining the history and the group escorts won’t give a guided tour, so visitors who want to do more than admire the views will need to read up on the history before their visit.

Tickets cost 43 euros ($45) for entry to the gallery and the corridor, and allow for two hours in the gallery before heading into the corridor (time it carefully – visitors won’t be allowed back in the gallery). Alternatively, visitors can pay 20 euros ($21) as an add-on to an already bought Uffizi ticket, subject to availability. There will be free entry every first Sunday of the month, though reservations for the next several months are fully booked.

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