Not Quite Italian: 30 November 2012, Tour of Vasari Corridor

This afternoon at 2.45 I was on time at the Loggia dei Lanzi in the Piazzia della Signoria, in front of the statue Perseus for a tour of the Corridoio Vasari, the Vasari Corridor.

It all started with an email response earlier this week:


Ok, last spot is yours! 
See below for payment and meeting time/place info. 
All the best, 
Alexandra 
 
 
Thank for your interest in the Vasari tour. We are really looking forward to it and it would be great to have you join us. Reservations and payment can be made at The Florentine's office in Via dei Banchi 4 (just off of Piazza Santa Maria Novella). The office is open weekdays from 10am to 6.30pm. Spots can only be guaranteed once payment is made. Because of the tour's popularity, I really encourage you to secure your spot as soon as possible. 
 
When you reserve at the office, you'll receive a 'coupon' for your tour. Participants will receive their books, and museum admission tickets on the day of the event. With regards to logistics, we will be meeting at 2.45pm at Piazza della Signoria's Loggia dei Lanzi, in front the Perseus. Please be punctual. We're under a very tight time limit for entrance. We will head over to the Uffizi/Vasari entrance together. If you have mobility issues, we ask that you let us know in advance. As a contact number, feel free to call 3338689458.
 
Thanks again, I look forward to seeing you at the event.
Alexandra Lawrence

A little history:

The Corridoio Vasari is a kilometer long, elevated hall designed by Giorgio Vasari and constructed by the Grand Duke Cosimo de’Medici in 1564. It enabled safe travel by horse from Palazzo Pitti, the family home, to Palazzo Vecchio, the Duke's workplace.

Palazzo Vecchio

Chiesa di Santa Felicità

A part of the hallway overlays a portion of the facade of Chiesa di Santa Felicità. The corridor then extends over Ponte Vecchio and makes two turns toward the Uffizi.

Vasari Corridor

As one walks through the corridor, it is possible to look out to various views from small round portal windows. There are several large windows, located right over the Arno River. Mussolini ordered these larger windows to be cut, to enable Hitler to have a better view of the river.

I arrived early for the tour named: Women Artists in the Vasari Corridor

Also early, from "The Florentine Press," was Alexandra Lawrence editor-at-large and a licensed tour guide.

I recognized Linda Falcone, who has a column in the same newspaper. She arrived in Italy from the California Bay area twenty years ago and never left.

Linda Falcone and Jane Fortune, together have written and published Art by Women in Florence, A Guide through Five Hundred Years.

Although the Corridoio Vasari (Vasari Corridor) is advertised as closed, according to Alexandra, it is actually open, but only to guided tours.

Two young men arrived with our supplies. Each of us were given a book, issued a name tag, an Uffizi entrance ticket and an around the neck halyard, with an attached device for hearing directly into the ear, Alexandra and Linda as they speak.

Isabella Dusii, in grey

Our group is limited to 25 by Uffizi regulations. As we waited for late arrivals, Alexandra suggested we socialize. I looked to the lady standing next to me and read her name tag! Oh my gosh. I was standing next to author Isabella Dusii. Her last book, Bel Vino: A Year of Sun Drenched Pleasure Among the Vines of Tuscany, is on my night stand. I had finished it, but it was so good, I had decided to read it again.

I held my hand out and said, "Oh what a nice surprise to see you in person. I have your book on my night stand." Then I thanked her for her work to document and save the history of Montalcino, her adopted hill town. Isabella departed Australia many years ago and now is an accepted member of her Italian quartiere.

She responded with, "It does so fascinate us." I mentioned I had seen her YouTube video when she was collecting donations in the USA to save their local church. She told me the church restoration has just been completed.

I didn't want to monopolize her time, but no one else was speaking to her. I started to make one last comment, but was interrupted by Alexandra making an announcement. We are still waiting for one last participant, who is already 30 minutes late, but in route.

I was surprised, because Isabella turned to me and said, "You were saying?" I told her of a conversation I had had with Alessandro, wondering why he had no family genealogy work documented. His response was: “I don’t need to know where I came from. My family has always been from right here.” Yes, it's true, but now how much family history was lost with his passing? She agreed, this is the same attitude she has encountered here in Italy.

I did not talk to her again because I saw she was busy taking notes in a small notebook. I'll have to just watch for her next book and maybe send an email. This trip seems to be giving itself a theme of friendship or of new acquaintances.

The tour began, as we waited briefly at the tour entrance of the Uffizi. The first room contains security, similar to an airport. No water allowed. Check large umbrellas in the cloak room. No photos are allowed to be taken of any works of art. Photos of views from the windows are ok.

One smart lady opted for the elevator. We climbed four groups of those deep, grey, hard Florentine stone steps and arrived breathless at the gallery entrance.

We paused at the top landing, to listen to a short talk by Alexandra about the Medici family portraits. The Uffizi was built by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de' Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, specifically to house all this art. Yes, it also housed his offices but mainly he wanted to show off the art. Each guild was required to pay for their part of the building. Construction therefore was done by many subcontractors. Just recently, Friends of Florence, an American non-profit, finished restoring an entire room, right down to the wall coverings and drapery.

Passing by all the gallery rooms, we stopped again at the point where the Uffizi hall turns right and overlooks the river Arno and Ponte Vecchio. A magnificent gorgeous view. Photographs are allowed here.

Right and left hallways of the Uffizi (Palazzo Vecchio in rear)

We turned to walk down the parallel left hall of the Uffizi. Just a few steps and we stopped in front of an unassuming door. A plain door which could be leading into a closet. Not fancy at all. But, to its sides, two very stern guards were waiting for us.

They looked us over. I've seen expressions like theirs only once, at the airport in London, when Israeli security looked over the passenger waiting area. These anti- terrorist officers are of a very high caliber. One of the officers looked as if he could have been a classic police character from a book or film. In addition to his facial expression, he had a long scar, slashing down his cheek. Certainly he had survived a real conflict.

The door was opened and we could see descending stairs, with a frescoed rounded ceiling. We had entered the Corridoio Vasari.

Looking back to the entrance door. (Photo from Internet)

We stopped at a spot just before the corridor turns to the left. On the right, with a view to the street below, there is a grated large window.

On May 28, 1993 a mafia car bomb exploded early in the morning, just below this window. Six people were killed and 26 injured. Much of the damage inside the museum was caused by broken glass in 20 of the 45 galleries, and the corridoio itself sustained structural damage. Later it was determined over 90 pieces of art were damaged by either glass shards or from the force of the blast. In addition, the Uffizi archives were totally destroyed.

List of Works Destroyed or Damaged in Uffizi Bombing With PM-Italy Explosion

The Associated Press , Associated Press

May. 28, 1993 11:03 AM ET

UNDATED Undated (AP) _ A list supplied by the Uffizi Gallery in Florence of artworks destroyed or damaged in the car bombing Thursday.

--- Paintings Destroyed:

Gherardo Delle Notti, ''Birth of Christ.''

Bartolomeo Manfredi, ''Card Players'' (also known as ''La Buona Ventura'') and Concert.''

--- Paintings Damaged:

Sebastiano del Piombo, ''Death of Adonis.''

Gregorio Pagani, ''Piramo and Tisbe.''

Peter Paul Rubens, ''Henry IV at the Battle of Ivry'' and ''Portrait of Philippe IV of Spain.''

C. Lorrain, ''Port with the Villa Medici.''

Bernini, ''Head of an Angel.''

Cristofano dell'Altissimo, ''Portrait of Giovanni Della Casa.''

Delle Notti, ''Adoration of Child,'' ''La Buona Ventura'' and ''Supper with the Lute Players.''

Manfredi, ''Tribute to Ceasa,'' ''Dispute with the Doctors.''

F. Rustici, ''Death of Lucrezia.''

Gentileschi, ''Judith and Holofernes,'' ''Saint Catherine.''

Guido Reni, ''David with the Head of Goliath.''

Bern Strozzi ''Parable of the Wedding Gift.''

Empoli, ''Still-life'' and ''Still-life.''

Rutilio Manetti, ''Massinissa and Sofonisba.''

G. B. Spinelli, ''David Celebrated by the Children'' and ''David Placates the Wrath of Saul.''

Renier, ''Scene of a Game.''

School of the Caravaggio, ''Disbelief of Saint Thomas'' and ''Liberation of Saint Peter.''

Valentine, ''Dice Players.''

Borgognone, ''Battle of Radicofani.''

M. Caffi, two paintings entitled ''Flowers.''

Van Der Weyden, ''Disposizione nel Sepolcro.''

--- Statues Damaged:

Hellenic Art, ''Dying Niobe.''

Roman works, ''Head of a Young Man.''

Copy of Roman era statue of ''The Discus Thrower of Mirone.''

So this event will never be forgotten, what is left of the oil painting “Concert” by Bartolomeo Manfredi is displayed on the wall opposite the window. The canvas stands newly framed, but the picture is presented in its destroyed state. Blocks of color and specs of what it once was, glued onto a black, empty background.

Destroyed "Concert" See below for fragments which remain.

Photo from Internet. On the right, pieces of the Concert are glued to a black background.

One look at this and my emotions started flowing tears. I read this damaged masterpiece will stand as a reminder of the vulnerability of art, on public display. But I saw it as ghostly remnants of beauty and culture, devoured and spit out by an evil force.

New York Times 1993/05/28

The Corridor houses the world’s largest collection of artists’ self-portraits.

This tour focused only on women painters. Their names as well as their art still remains mostly hidden. In the past, society frowned upon women painting or writing. Many of these women worked in their father's studios and their father's names are on their art. Some women were forbidden to paint after arranged marriages. Others were lucky to have had enlightened husbands who supported their work.

A surprising fact Linda Falcone left with us as we viewed some women's self portraits: Often a woman's painting skills were judged by her own physical appearance. Many of these women's self portraits were not actually true to life.

Linda Falcone and Jane Fortune

I took photos as I walked through the Corridoio, although we were not allowed to take pictures of paintings or sculptures. Our guard escorts followed closely behind us, never relaxing their attentiveness, until we reached the exit in the Boboli Gardens. We found ourselves outside, in the dark night, on ground level in the Boboli Gardens, just to the left of the Boboli Grotto.