King's Walkway

Vasari Corridor seen from inside Ufizzi, photo courtesy of Wikipedia CC

                Architect of the Ufizzi Giorgio Vasari built a secret corridor, the King’s Walkway now known as the Vasarian Corridor, after the original construction of the offices.  Commissioned by Cosimo I of the Medici family, the secret passageway connects from the Palazzo Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti across the Arno river.  The Vasarian Corridor runs atop the Ufizzi and over the shops of the Ponte Vecchio, passing through the church of Santa Felicita (so the Medici could pause for mass in secret), before ending at the Boboli Gardens of the Palazzo Pitti.  The purpose for this corridor was to allow the Medici family and other important figures to pass safely throughout the city.  The Medici understood that they went unloved by many Florentine citizens at certain periods throughout their reign, and wanted to protect themselves from assassination attempts from rival families.  The corridor stretches a huge length of Florence’s antic district, and is today a vastly private passageway, holding some of the Ufizzi’s most prized paintings.

Vasari Corridor connecting from Palazzo Vecchio to Ufizzi, photo courtesy of WCC