In recent decades, it was made accessible to those who were willing to pay a substantial fee for exclusive entry, but in 2016 it was shut down for health and safety concerns. Currently, those who purchase a 20-euro ticket will be grouped in sets of 25. While they will continue to walk, there will be scheduled pauses for photo opportunities.
The corridor begins on the second floor of the Uffizi, where a door leads visitors down 58 steps into a frescoed, spacious area with a high ceiling. From there, it descends further to become the corridor: a sheltered walkway, laid with terracotta bricks, featuring porthole windows that overlook the streets to the right, and large square windows approximately every four feet, providing views of the Arno River.
It then proceeds along the top of the Ponte Vecchio, featuring a series of panoramic windows situated halfway across, which were installed by dictator Benito Mussolini — who was meant to guide an enthralled Adolf Hitler through the corridor. Hitler subsequently spared the Ponte Vecchio while he demolished all the other bridges in Florence during World War II.
