Vasari's Corridor reopens

From Wednesday 21st January through April, it will once again be possible to visit the Corridoio Vasariano. The "Vasarian Corridor" was designed by Renaissance man Giorgio Vasari for Cosimo I de' Medici: Cosimo didn't much like mixing with everyday folk when he was perusing his palazzi; Vasari built him a secret passageway so he didn't have to. The Corridoio now hosts one of the world's finest collections of artists' self-portraits.

The Corridoio, which runs from the Palazzo Vecchio through the Uffizi to the Pitti Palace in Oltrarno, including a clandestine crossing above the Ponte Vecchio, will be open twice daily for guided visits from Tuesday to Friday. Call 055/2654321 to book. Tickets are €10.50.

Bargello Treats for 2009

Visitors to Florence's Bargello Museum in early 2009 can look forward to a couple of extra treats on top of the usual world-class permanent sculpture collection. Restoration work has finished on Donatello's bronze David, the first free-standing nude since Roman times when it was completed sometime in the 1440s. It will take centre-stage alongside the sculptor's other Bargello works, and earlier (1401) bronze panels by Ghiberti and Brunelleschi, in the Salone del Quattrocento.

Meanwhile, April sees the opening of an important exhibition of works by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, charting the links between his sculpture and the birth of Baroque portraiture. It follows a major Bernini exhibition at California's Getty Center in 2008.

The Bargello Museum, housed inside a magnificent Gothic fortress on Via del Proconsolo, is worth €4 of your entrance money anytime. It's one Florence stop I recommend highly in the new book, due out in May.

Florentine Genius Festival

If you're planning to be in Florence over the next couple of weeks be sure to check this website for details of over 100 events taking place as part of the city's Genio Fiorentino festival. The festival was attended by almost 400,000 visitors last year.

Genio Fiorentino runs from 15th to 25th May, opening tomorrow with a musical event celebrating Benvenuto Cellini, whose bronze Perseus Holding the Head of Medusa, pictured, graces the Loggia dei Lanzi in Piazza della Signoria.

Other artistic highlights include an exhibition of drawings by Leonardo and Raphael inside the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi (see the book, p. 56). The exhibition's opening coincides with the festival ending, on 25th May.

The Genio sees the annual opening of the Corridoio Vasariano, a covered passageway that links the Ponte Vecchio with the Palazzo Pitti, crossing the Arno inside the Ponte Vecchio. See the book, p. 59, for more details.

Florence's Istituto degli Innocenti is also hosting children's workshops, the Bottega dei Ragazzi, throughout the Genio. Contact them direct for advice on what events best suit your child's spoken Italian skills: local tel. 055 2478386 (Mon–Sat 9am–1pm and 4–7pm),email labottegadeiragazzi@istitutodeglinnocenti.it.

Florence's tourist office, local tel. 055 290832, will be able to direct you towards other events suited to visiting families. For comprehensive visitor information for Florence, see the book, p. 38–47.

New Discount Museum Ticket for Siena

Anyone who enjoyed the Renaissance Siena: Art for a City exhibition at London's National Gallery last winter should make straight for Siena's tourist office in the Campo (see p. 80).

For €13.50, the new "Percorsi del Rinascimento Senese" ticket gets you into the heart of all that art. It covers the Museo Civico (p. 83), Pinacoteca Nazionale, the former hospital of Santa Maria della Scala (p. 84), the Duomo and Pinturicchio's frescoed Libreria Piccolomini (p. 83), and the Archivio di Stato with its Museo delle Tavolette di Biccherna. Tickets represent a substantial saving on full-price individual admissions, and are valid through to the end of 2008.

More here.

Various other discount tickets for Siena are listed in the book, p. 85.

If you missed the London exhibition, the excellent catalogue is on sale here for £34.95. There's also a DVD (£15) about the city and its artistic heritage.

Chianti's Sculpture Park

Here's another family attraction we just came across, close to the heart of Chianti. It's an outdoor contemporary sculpture park, with permanent exhibits and installations set in woodland north of Siena: the Chianti Sculpture Park.

There's also a contemporary art and sculpture shop on-site. Curator Dr. Piero Giadrossi explains:

Your readers might also be interested to know that in front of the entrance to the Park there is a sculpture gallery, located in an ancient renovated pottery, a fine example of industrial archeology. It is probably the largest in Italy and displays sculptures not to be found elsewhere in Europe.

We haven't inspected the park yet ourselves, but will be heading there as and when a new edition enters production.

It's open 10am until sunset April to October; entrance is €7.50, €5 for under 16s. Local tel. 0577 357151.

Driving directions are here.