Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Vasari Corridor
This elevated and enclosed passageway, constructed in 1565, gave the Medici a safe, private
commute over Ponte Vecchio from their Pitti Palace home to their Palazzo Vecchio offices.
It's open only by special appointment, and while enticing to lovers of Florence, the actu-
al tour experience isn't much. Entering from inside the Uffizi Gallery, you walk along a
modern-feeling hall (wide enough to carry a Medici on a sedan chair) across Ponte Vec-
chio, and end in the Pitti Palace. Half the corridor is lined with Europe's best collection
of self-portraits, along with other paintings (mostly 17th- and 18th-century) that seem like
they didn't make the cut to be hung on the walls of the Uffizi. The best way to get in-
side the corridor is to go with a tour company such as Florencetown (€89, daily at 15:30,
tel. 055-012-3994, www.florencetown.com ) or ArtViva (€84, Tue and Sat at 13:30, tel.
055-264-5033, www.artviva.com ). The three-hour tours, which include a tour of the Uffizi,
are expensive because of steep city entrance fees and the requirement that groups be accom-
panied by attendants and a guide.
▲▲▲ Galileo Science Museum (Museo Galilei e Istituto di Storia della Scienza)
When we think of the Florentine Renaissance, we think of visual arts: painting, mosaics,
architecture, and sculpture. But when the visual arts declined in the 1600s (abused and co-
opted by political powers), music and science flourished in Florence. The first opera was
written here. And Florence hosted many scientific breakthroughs, as you'll see in this fas-
cinatingcollectionofRenaissanceandlaterclocks,telescopes,maps,andingeniousgadgets.
Trace the technical innovations as modern science emerges from 1000 to 1900. One of the
most talked-about bottles in Florence is the one here that contains Galileo's finger. Exhibits
include various tools for gauging the world, from a compass and thermometer to Galileo's
telescopes. Other displays delve into clocks, pumps, medicine, and chemistry. It's friendly,
comfortably cool, never crowded, and just a block east of the Uffizi on the Arno River.
Cost and Hours: €9, €22 family ticket, cash only, covered by Firenze Card, Wed-Mon
9:30-18:00, Tue 9:30-13:00, last entry 30 minutes before closing, Piazza dei Giudici 1, tel.
055-265-311, www.museogalileo.it .
Tours: The €5 audioguide is well-produced, and offers both a highlights tour as well as
dial-up info (with video) on each exhibit. The 1.5-hour English-language guided tour covers
the collection plus behind-the-scenes areas, and includes hands-on demonstrations of some
of the devices (€50 flat fee for 2-14 people, cash only, doesn't include museum entry, book
at least a week in advance, great for kids, tel. 055-234-3723, groups@museogalileo.it ).
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