New bookings for guided visits through the Vasari corridor are available until April 15, 2011. Guided tours are held twice a day, on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. For reservations, call Firenze Musei at 055/294883. Called the ‘Percorso del Principe,’ the tour begins in Palazzo Vecchio, continues through the Uffizi, over the Ponte Vecchio, and ends at the Boboli Gardens. Tickets go quickly, so be sure to book soon!
At one time, the Ponte Vecchio was Florence’s only bridge across the Arno and, as such, was fitted with four towers to protect and monitor this singular entrance to the city from Rome and other rival cities to the south. The bridge was and remains a symbol of Florentine pride. Loved by Florentines throughout history (and by the likes of such historical figures as Hitler, who explicitly forbid its destruction during World War II), the bridge was viciously protected-so much so that Grand Duke Cosimo I intervened in its preservation.
In 1565, during the planning and construction of the famed Vasari corridor, commissioned by Cosimo I de’ Medici, Giorgio Vasari encountered an unfortunate obstacle: the four towers. They would have to be demolished to make room for the passageway that would allow gout-ridden nobles to hobble from the Pitti Palace to their political headquarters in Palazzo Vecchio. The beloved architect, in fact, planned to demolish every private home and structure that would stand in the corridor’s way. Florentine families, for fear of Medicean influence, obliged.
Except the Mannelli. The Mannelli family occupied one of the four original towers on the Ponte Vecchio. They vehemently opposed its destruction, citing the historical and cultural importance of the tower to Florence’s historical heritage. The majority of Florentines agreed with the politically powerful Ghibbelline Mannelli. As a result,Cosimo instructed Vasari to work around the tower. Today, the ground floor of the Torre di Mannelli in the Oltrarno houses a gelateria.
