Ponte Vecchio

A bridge has crossed here since Roman times; the present one dates from 1345 after floods destroyed its predecessors. Butchers and tanners worked on it until 1593, when Ferdinando I expelled them for the smell and gave the shops to goldsmiths, who are still there. Above the shops runs the Vasari Corridor, built in 1565 so the Medici could walk from the Palazzo Vecchio to the Pitti Palace without mixing with the city. In August 1944 every bridge in Florence except this one was destroyed, and the medieval buildings at each end were blown up instead to block the approaches.

History

A bridge is thought to have crossed the Arno at its narrowest point here in Roman times, when the Via Cassia ran this way, on stone piers with a timber deck. The bridge appears in a document of 996, was carried away by a flood in 1117 and rebuilt in stone, and was swept away again in 1333 except for two central piers; the present bridge dates from 1339-1345. Vasari credited its design to Taddeo Gaddi, while modern historians suggest Neri di Fioravanti. Its three shallow segmental arches, the main one 30 metres across, needed fewer piers than Roman semicircular arches, and the Torre dei Mannelli was built at its south-east corner to defend it. A stone at the entrance marks where Buondelmonte de' Buondelmonti was murdered in 1215, the killing that began the fighting between Guelfs and Ghibellines. The back shops seen from upriver were added in the 17th century, the goldsmiths set up a bust of Benvenuto Cellini by Raffaello Romanelli in 1900, and the bridge was badly damaged in the flood of 1966 (Wikipedia, Ponte Vecchio).

What you'll find

• The goldsmiths' shops - jewellers on the bridge since 1593.
• The Vasari Corridor - the Medici's private passage running above.
• The 1944 survival - the only Florence bridge left standing.
• The overhanging backs - shop rooms propped out over the Arno.

When to go

April to June and September to October; the bridge is jammed from mid-morning to evening year-round. Early morning and after dark are far quieter.

Good to know

It is extremely crowded and pickpocketing is common. Shops are high-end jewellery, not general shopping. The best view of the bridge is from other bridges, not on it.

Nearby

The Uffizi is at the north end; the Pitti Palace lies south.

Key facts