Guided tour of private passages created for the Medici's to avoid enemies and move safely. Real history in real places. Places exist inside Palazzo Vecchio where time seems to have stood still and where it is easier for today's visitors to relive the emotions of the past.
Info & Booking
Extraordinary opening - Visit to the Secret Passages: Salone dei Cinquecento, Studiolo di Francesco I, Leone X, Capriate; it is NOT possible to access the Duca d'Atene Staircase and the Studiolo di Cosimo due to the Hirst temporary exhibition. ATTENTION: Exhibition extended to June 12th.
- When: From February 24th to June 9th 2011, Thursdays at 2pm and 3 pm
- Languages: Italian, English, French
- Duration of the visit: 1 hours
ATTENTION: The is a special visit as Palazzo Vecchio Museum closes at 2 pm on Thursdays; for this reason, the visit will only follow the trail described above and it will not be possible to visit the rest of the Quartieri Monumentali and Palazzo Vecchio.
The appointment will be in front of the closed door of Palazzo Vecchio cashier.
Reservations must be made at least 1 week before the visit.
PLEASE NOTICE: Confirmed time is not always the same time you requested; museum automatically confirms the closest available time (any time) on the same date if requested time is sold out.
Secret Passages
Places exist inside Palazzo Vecchio where time seems to have stood still and where it is easier for today's visitors to relive the emotions of the past. Since 2000 the Museum has made many of these special places accessible to the public but they can only be visited by small groups - max. 12 people - accompanied by an expert guide: Salone dei Cinquecent; Studiolo of Francesco I; Leone X, Trusses of the ceiling of the Salone dei Cinquecento.
While all very different one from the other, they offer an unusual and penetrating glimpse of Palazzo Vecchio.
The Stairway of the Duke of Athens is an escape route built inside the thick walls of the Palazzo between 1342 and 1343 that exits from a tiny door in Via della Ninna. The Tesoretto and the Studiolo, located one on top of the other next to the Salone dei Cinquecento, are reminiscent of the refined and cultured climate of the Italian courts during the Renaissance and represent one of the most significant examples of the princes' passion for collecting. The double rows of Vasarian trusses holding up the roof in the Salone dei Cinquecento and the imposing gilded lacunar ceiling of this hall are a perfect expression of the unity between art and science that was typical of the Humanism and Renaissance periods.