The experience starts by enjoying a Florentine lunch in a characteristic and historic restaurant in the ancient open gallery market, in the heart of the Medicean district.
The tour takes place in Palazzo Vecchio, built in 1299 to be the basis for the Republic of Florence, and then restored by Vasari for the Grand Duke Cosimo de’ Medici. You will have access to places not normally open to visitors, led by an English-speaking professional guide authorized by the museum.
During this tour with exclusive opening, you will have access to the Duke of Athens staircase, a secret escape way built in the thickness of the walls of the building, and you can discover the magnificence of the Salone dei Cinquecento: here are the huge frescos by Vasari, with the mysterious message chi cerca trova ("seek and you shall find") at the top right of the painting.
Furthermore you can climb the ancient Capriate (trusses) supporting the roof of the Salone dei Cinquecento, and you can see the original “death mask of Dante Alighieri”. Then you will move into the Hall of Geographical Maps, where lies the secret passage used by Langdon to escape from the building: you can enter through that secret step up in the Bianca Cappello’s dressing room, also this opened exclusively for this tour. After the guided visit, it is possible to enter the secret Studiolo of Francesco I.
