Medici secret passageway in Florence reopens after refit

AFP | Florence

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A secret passageway built 500 years ago to allow the Medici family to pass through the Italian city of Florence unhindered reopens to the public Saturday after an 10-million-euro restoration.

The Vasari Corridor, which is more than 700 metres (nearly half a mile) long and runs above the famous Ponte Vecchio, has been closed for eight years. Designed in 1565 by Giorgio Vasari, a commission by Duke Cosimo I to mark his son's wedding, the corridor begins at what is now the Uffizi Galleries and ends up in the Pitti Palace across the Arno river.

Its 73 windows offer unrivalled views over the city centre, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and will now finally be accessible to the general public.