Florence, Italy CNN —It was built as a secret passageway for the elite of Florence to pass undetected, far from the regular citizens. Now, for the first time in history, the Corridoio Vasariano, or Vasari Corridor, has opened to the general public. The main stretch of the corridor, running from the Uffizi to the Boboli Gardens outside Palazzo Pitti, opened to the public on Friday. The corridor connects Palazzo Vecchio to Palazzo Pitti, via the Uffizi Galleries and the Ponte Vecchio. Hitler later spared the Ponte Vecchio while he destroyed all the other Florence bridges during World War II.

---

Persons: Giorgio Vasari, Cosimo I de, Florence’s, It’s, Grand Dukes, Tuscany —, Benito Mussolini —, Adolf Hitler, Hitler, Ponte, Palazzo, Andreas Solaro, Simone Verde, ”, “ isn’t, Medici, won’t Organizations: Italy CNN, Uffizi Galleries, Uffizi, CNN, Getty Locations: Florence, Italy, Palazzo, Ponte Vecchio, Vecchio, Ponte, Santa Felicita, AFP, ”, Rome, Europe, Santa