|
The Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) in Florence connects the city centre to the district of Oltrarno on the south bank of the river Arno. It is the first bridge ever built in Florence, surely one of the great icons of the city and one of the most famous bridges in the world. It is best known today for the wooden-shuttered goldsmiths' shops that line both sides of it, and for the Vasari Corridor that runs over it.
Historical sources indicate that Ponte Vecchio has been in place since at least the twelfth century, and we know that for a long time the Arno River was crossable only at this point.
During its long history, Ponte Vecchio was improved and rebuilt several times (most notably after the flood of 1333, which destroyed it almost completely), and miraculously managed to survive World War II during the retreat of the German army from the city, remaining the only untouched bridge in all of Florence. The present aspect of the Ponte Vecchio dates back to 1345.
The Giorgio Vasari in his The Lives of the Most Excellent Italian Painters, Sculptors, and Architects says that reconstruction of the bridge after the flood of 1333 was entrusted to Taddeo Gaddi (famous for painting and designing several basilicas across Florence), but there is no other evidence to corroborate this.
| 