The secrets of Florence and artists seen through the walls and windows of the Vasari Corridor, the invisible passageway linking the two shores of the Arno River between Palazzo Pitti and Palazzo Vecchio.
Exclusively for our guests are visits to this wonderful museum and its collection of centuries of art and… curiosity.
In the Middle Ages, building a cathedral was an enormous undertaking. He who laid the first stone could be sure that only his children’s children’s children would see the finished church…
At the end of the fourteenth century, the Florentines decided to complete the cathedral with a dome that would be the envy of all. It was a question of prestige. Two hundred years earlier, the hated rival city of Pisa had designed its Piazza dei Miracoli. The new cathedral of Florence could not be anything less; it had to become one of the wonders of the world.
The story of the dome is a strange one made up of arguments, rivalries, and bizarre projects. It is, most of all, though, the story of its builder; a brilliant and very brave man. Two men, both architects and sculptors, won the competition jointly: Ghiberti and Brunelleschi. In reality, the dome project was Brunelleschi’s, but let us just say that the patrons did not trust him because, as Vasari tells us, they considered him a bit crazy.
We thought that during the week this would be a fine way for you to enjoy this splendid gem, without tourists and with a glass of champagne, in a tranquil stroll into the past. During the weekend, for obvious liturgical reasons, this is not possible.
Our guests can visit the cathedral dome during an extraordinary opening, with a visit to the terrace of the cathedral and a walk outside around the top of the dome, for a charming and unique panoramic view of Florence.
The route also includes a visit to the matroneum in the baptistery, for the possibility of a closer look at the mosaic covered vault and the architecture of its structure, which was the inspiration for the adjacent dome by Brunelleschi.
Before ending this marvelous tour, we will stop into a workshop, a rare surviving example of a medieval workshop, where the Opera del Duomo stone cutters still restore the original works by major artists of the past, some who worked for the cathedral; making copies to replace them on site.
For more information, please contact:
Danytza Contreras
Public Relations Manager
Hotel Villa San Michele
Firenze-Italia
+39 055 5678200
dcontreras@villasanmichele.net
