Uffizi director plans to open Vasari Corridor to all

(ANSA) - Florence, March 7 - Uffizi director Eike Schmidt said Monday he intended to do away with privilege and make the Vasari Corridor joining Florence's world-renowned gallery to the Pitti Palace via Ponte Vecchio accessible to the general public.
    "My aim is to eliminate privileges and offer the possibility, not the obligation, of passing through the Vasari corridor to Palazzo Pitti on a ticket separate from the one giving access to the Uffizi, and which is in line with normal prices for museum access," the German art historian said.
    "Due to contracts stipulated in the past, and on which I am unable to intervene for legal reasons, until now the Vasari corridor has been accessible prevalently through tour operators and travel companies, for prices starting at 45 euros per person," Schmidt said.
    The director also spoke of plans to return the self-portraits currently displayed in the corridor to their original exhibition space in the Uffizi gallery. These plans are motivated in part by the need to better protect the collection started by Cardinal Leopoldo dei Medici, which are currently exposed to extremes of temperature in winter and summer.