Florence - Florence and Tuscany - page 137

On dry days (closed when raining), end your visit with a breathtaking (literally),
418-step hike up the palace's striking Torre d'Arnolfo (tower) and battlements. No more
than 25 people are alllowed on the terrace at any one time - in high season expect to wait
in line on the 3rd floor - and the panorama of Piazza della Signoria and the city beyond is
fabulous. Once up, you have just 30 minutes to lap it up. No children under 6 years; last
tickets sold one hour before closing.

PALAZZO VECCHIO TOURS

The only way to get the most out of Florence's most dynamic, well-thought-out museum is to join one
of its excellent guided tours ( 055 276 85 58; [e-mail] ; reservations

9.30am-5pm).
The best of the adult bunch is probably the 'Secret Passages' tour, in which groups of 12 are led
along the secret staircase built between the palace's super-thick walls in 1342 as an escape route for
French Duke of Athens Walter de Brienne, who seized the palace and nominated himself Lord of
Florence, only to be sent packing back to France by the Florentines a year later. It follows this stair-
case to the Tesoretto (Treasury) of Cosim o I - a tiny room no larger than a cupboard for his private
collection - and the equally intimate, sumptuous Studiolo (Study) of his introverted, alchemy-mad
son Francesco I. Cosimo commissioned Vasari and a team of Florentine Mannerist artists to decorate
the study, Francesco appearing in one of the 34 emblematic paintings covering the walls not as a
prince, but as a scientist experimenting with gunpowder. The lower paintings concealed 20 cabinets in
which the young prince hid his shells, crystals and other treasures. The tour ends in the palace roof
above the Salone dei Cinquecento, where you can see the huge wooden trusses supporting Vasari's or-
nate ceiling.
The 'Experiencing the palace first-hand' tours are specifically designed with children and are open
to visitors aged 8 (or 10 depending on the tour) to 88 years. Actors dressed in Renaissance costume
rope young participants into the performance. A sumptuously attired Eleonora of Toledo, clearly
shocked by the casual attire of today's children, has been known to give advice about proper grooming
for young ladies, and Cosimo I is happy to lay down the law about the proper age for a Medici to take
on duties as a cardinal (the answer is 14, the age of his son Ferdinando when he became a cardinal).
Tours last 1¼ hours and take you into parts of the building otherwise inaccessible; many are in Eng-
lish. Reserve in advance by telephone or email.

Gucci Museo
MAP GOOGLE MAP
( www.gucci.com ; Piazza della Signoria 10; adult/child €6/free; 10am-8pm) Strut through the chic
cafe, bookshop and icon store to reach this surprisingly interesting museum. It tells the
tale of the Gucci fashion house, from the first luggage pieces in Gucci's signature beige
fabric emblazoned with the interlocking 'GG' logo to the 1950s red-and-green stripe and

FASHION MUSEUM