Title: Firenze Passeggiando per la citta 8
1Firenze
8
Passeggiando per la città
2The Vasari Corridor from Palazzo Vecchio to
Uffizi
3 The very first part of the Corridor can be seen
while touring the Palazzo Vecchio but a locked
door blocks the passage.
4Palazzo Vecchio
5The area closest to the Uffizi entrance was
heavily damaged by a terrorist attack
commissioned by the Italian mafia in 1993. During
the night of May 26, 1993 a car full of explosive
was set off next to the Torre dei Pulci, located
between via Lambertesca and via de' Georgofili,
and 5 people died. Many others were injured and
several houses were heavily damaged, including
this section of the Uffizi Gallery and the Vasari
Corridor.
6The Uffizi Gallery is one of the oldest and most
famous art museums of the Western world. The
Doni Tondo or Doni Madonna, sometimes called The
Holy Family, is the only finished panel painting
by the mature Michelangelo to survive
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8Finally, after more than 200 years, the
beautiful, imposing statue called the Sleeping
Ariadne (Arianna Addormentata) has returned to
the Uffizi Gallery. The sculpture, dating from
the third century AD, should find its permanent
home in the new set-up of Hall 35, dedicated to
Michelangelo
9The Sleeping Ariadne (Arianna addormentata)
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13Uffizi Gallery
14The Vasari Corridor and the Uffizi Gallery In its
Uffizi section the Vasari Corridor is used to
exhibit the museum's famous collection of
self-portraits
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16It is a covered walk, almost a kilometre in
length, an overhead passageway that starts out
from the West Corridor of the Gallery, heads
towards the Arno and then, raised up by huge
arches, follows the river as far as the Ponte
Vecchio, which it crosses by passing on top of
the shops. Self-portrait of Giorgio Vasari
Italian painter and art historian (1511-1574)
17Staircase from the Uffizi Gallery to the Corridor
Corridor detail
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19Uffizi Gallery
20Ponte Vecchio
21Ponte Vecchio
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23The meat market of Ponte Vecchio was moved to
avoid its smell reaching into the passage, its
place being taken by the goldsmith shops that
still occupy the bridge.
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26Ponte Vecchio
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28Ponte Vecchio
29In the middle of Ponte Vecchio the corridor is
characterized by a series of panoramic windows
facing the Arno, in the direction of the Ponte
Santa Trinita. These replaced the smaller windows
of the original construction in 1939, by order of
Benito Mussolini. The larger windows were
installed for an official visit to Florence by
Adolf Hitler to give him a panoramic view of the
river.
30Ponte Vecchio
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32At the latter extremity, the corridor was forced
to pass around the Mannelli's Tower, after the
staunch opposition of that family to its
destruction
33Torre dei Manelli
34This is the only surviving tower of the four once
located at the corners of the Old Bridge. It was
built in 12th Century by the Mannelli, one of the
most ancient families of Florence whose prestige
was still so great in 1565 that even Cosimo I de'
Medici avoided to destroy their tower during the
building of the Vasari Corridor above the Old
Bridge and ordered the Corridor to turn around
the tower.
Torre dei Manelli
35After the Ponte Vecchio the Corridor passes over
the loggiato of the church of Santa Felicita at
that point it had a balcony, protected by a thick
railing, looking into the interior of the church,
in order to allow the Grand Duke's family to
follow services without mixing with the populace.
36View of the church of Santa Felicia from the
corridor
37On top of the Mannelli tower a brick-made floor
has been built in subsequent times. Torre dei
Manelli
38 Torre dei Manelli
39The Vasari Corridor
40Ponte Vecchio
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43 Torre dei Manelli
44Torre dei Marsili
45The skyline of medieval italian cities was
characterized by countless raging towers, and
Florence made no exception the most prominent
families built towers which not only were used as
(rather unconfortable...) homes and strongholds
during frequent civil wars. They also embodied
the family's power, and had to be built taller
than the ones of enemy clans many towers
collapsed during their construction because the
owners wanted them to be too tall. In the centre
of Florence you can still find several towers (or
remnants thereof) which managed to survive civil
wars and reprisals, lightning strikes and
demolitions following city reshaping or changes
in habits (from 14th Century the palace became
symbol of a family's power, and towers lost their
role), but none of them retained until today its
original height
46Torre dei Marsili
47Torre dei Marsili
48Torre dei Marsili
49When Florence became a free city in 13th Century
and a republic was founded, all towers were
cropped to signify that the age of clans and
civil wars was over Florentine historian
Giovanni Villani (1280-1348) wrote in his history
of Florence Nuova Cronica ("New Chronicle") that
in 1251 the city government decided all towers
of Florence - and there were in big number with a
height of 70 meters - to be cropped down to 29
meters or even less the stones from the cropped
towers were used to build houses in Oltrarno.
50Many towers existed once in the quarters of
Oltrarno most of them have been not only cropped
in 1251, but also further lowered in later times
and now have become a part of palaces or other
buildings, so that only few of them can still be
recognized as towers.
Torre dei Marsili
51Torre dei Marsili
52The Marsili were among the most ancient
Florentine families they built this tower
between 11th and 12th Century. In 19th Century
the tower was owned by the goldsmith Giuseppe
Sorbi, who decorated the façade with four della
Robbia-style terracottas (Annunciazione, two
Angels and Jesus) which still today characterize
this tower.
Torre dei Marsili
53Torre dei Marsili
54One of the better preserved towers in the city,
characterized by the small garden on its side
towards Borgo San Jacopo. Belfredelli family
erected it in 12th Century and owned other
buildings in the surroundings. The uppermost
floor of the tower was added well after 14th
Century. Behind this tower is the even taller
Ramaglianti tower it seems built on the back of
the Belfredelli tower, but between the two
buildings is a centimeter-wide air space.
Torre dei Belfredelli
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57the Corridor start in Palazzo Vecchio and reach
Pitti Palace from Boboli Garden
58The Palazzo Pitti, in English sometimes called
the Pitti Palace, is a vast mainly Renaissance
palace in Florence. It is situated on the south
side of the River Arno, a short distance from the
Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present palazzo
dates from 1458 and was originally the town
residence of Luca Pitti, an ambitious Florentine
banker. The palace was bought by the Medici
family in 1549 and became the chief residence of
the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of
Tuscany. It grew as a great treasure house as
later generations amassed paintings, plates,
jewelry and luxurious possessions.
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61Palazzo Pitti
62The palace and its contents were donated to the
Italian people by King Victor Emmanuel III in
1919, and its doors were opened to the public as
one of Florence's largest art galleries. Today,
it houses several minor collections in addition
to those of the Medici family, and is fully open
to the public.
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64The Vasari Corridor (Italian Corridoio
Vasariano) is an elevated enclosed passageway in
Florence, which connects the Palazzo Vecchio with
the Palazzo Pitti. The Vasari Corridor was built
in 5 months by order of Grand Duke Cosimo I de'
Medici in 1564, to the design of Giorgio Vasari.
It was commissioned in connection with the
marriage of Cosimo's son, Francesco, with Johanna
of Austria. The idea of an enclosed passageway
was motivated by the Grand Duke's desire to move
freely between his residence and the government
palace, when, like most monarchs of the period,
he felt insecure in public, in his case
especially because he had replaced the Republic
of Florence.
65Text Internet Pictures Daniela Iacob
Internet All copyrights belong to their
respective owners Presentation Sanda
Foisoreanu
2013
Sound James Galway - Mercadante -
Concerto in E minor - I Allegro maestoso