A guided tour by Giorgio Vasari
In 1555 Giorgio Vasari, painter, architect, and writer from Arezzo (author of Lives of the most illustrious painters, sculptors and architects) was responsible for the restoration works of Palazzo Vecchio and engineered an immense operation for rendering the innumerable rooms, halls, chambers, antechambers, and stairways making up the Palazzo more organized and practical. Thanks to his numerous skills, he was able to oversee not only the architectural and structural operations, but also the decorative aspects, thus endowing the works with great uniformity. Moreover, the collaboration between Vasari and Cosimo was tight-knit and their relationship characterised by mutual friendship and trust. A tireless worker, active in all the most important Florentine sites organised by the Duke (just think of the Uffizi and the Vasarian Corridor), Vasari was a magnificent supervisor who directed and coordinated a huge team of workers.
Who then could be more suited than Giorgio Vasari himself to take visitors on a tour of Palazzo Vecchio, helping them to understand the extraordinary commitment he was called on to make in order to turn a "palazzo stato murato a caso..." (haphazardly erected palazzo) into a palace? The animator-actor who impersonates Giorgio Vasari leads the public through the Secret Passages of the Palazzo. Each site represents a different moment in the professional and human life of this great artist: the stairway of the Duke of Athens symbolises the past life of the Palazzo; the Tesoretto of Cosimo I is one of the peaks of his work, the result of a deep understanding with the Duke, likewise the trusses of the ceiling of the Salone dei Cinquecento; while the Studiolo of Francesco I is the creation of a by-then elderly artist, whose style was far removed from that of the new Duke, Francesco, Cosimo's son.
General information
The main entrance to the museum is in via dei Gondi . For security reasons, at both entrances, visitors are asked to pass through metal detectors and eventually be checked by the municipal policemen. Security controls can slow the access to the museum, so it is highly recommended to arrive some time before the planned schedule.
All activities for children require the presence of an adult.
The tours of the
Secret passages are not accessible for visitors with wheelchair disabilities.
All the guided tour in Palazzo Vecchio need to be reserved. If you want see the palace by your own can enter through the side door, in via dei Gondi without reservations, but at the ticket office you have to respect the line.
Occasionally tours are cancelled as the Palazzo Vecchio is still a functioning civic government building. In case of tours cancelled you will be notified.
The Palazzo Vecchio tours are
not wheelchair accessible, though the building itself is wheelchair accessible. The entrance for people with disabilities is the side door in Via dei Gondi.
Additional information: You must be at the museum 15 minutes before your scheduled entrance time to redeem your tickets.
May purchase Reduced/Half Ticket *: - People between 18 and 25 years old (valid identity document needed at the entrance)
- People over 65 years old
- For children from 3 to 17 age: € 2,00 without extra fee. Tickets can be purchased directly at ticket office of the Museum.
Timetable Museum of Palazzo Vecchio
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 9 am h/7 pm h
Wednesday and week-day holiday (6th January, Monday of Easter, 25 april, 2th june, 24 june,
1° November, 8 December, 26 December) 9 am h /2 am h
Closed 1° january, Easter, 1° may, 15 August, 25 December
Timetable of activities
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 09 am h /05 pm h 30
Saturday and Sunday 09 am h/06 pm h
Wednesday 09 am h /12 pm h 30
feste infrasettimanali 10 am h / 01 pm h
Saturday and Sunday 10 am h/6 pm h
