The Ponte Vecchio “Old Bridge” is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy.
The bridge may well be one of the most recognised icons of Florence. It is noted for the jumble of shops built along with it, as was once common. Butchers, tanners, and farmers initially occupied the shops; the present tenants are jewelers, art dealers, and souvenir sellers.
The beauty of the bridge is also in the way it is linked with a passageway, officially called the Percorso del Principe (Passageway of the Prince), but now more often known as the Corridoio Vasariano, Vasari Corridor.
Its evenly matched windows can be seen from above the shops. The hallway linings have its walls adorned with priceless collection of portraits, mostly self-portraits by artists like Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Velásquez.
The Ponte Vecchio’s two neighboring bridges are the Ponte Santa Trinita and the Ponte Alle Grazie.
History & Reconstructions
The bridge spans the Arno at its narrowest point where it is believed that a bridge was first built in Roman times when the via Cassia crossed the river at this point.
The Roman piers were of stone, the superstructure of wood. The bridge first appears in a document of 996 and was destroyed by a flood in 1117 and reconstructed in stone.
In 1218 the Ponte Alla Carraia, a wooden structure, was established nearby which led to it being referred to as “Ponte Nuovo” relative to the older (Vecchio) structure.
It was swept away again in 1333 except for two of its central piers, as noted by Giovanni Villani in his Nuova Cronica. It was rebuilt in 1345.
The bridge has always hosted shops and merchants who displayed their goods on tables before their premises, after authorization by the Bargello (a sort of a lord mayor, a magistrate and a police authority.
To enhance the prestige and clean up the bridge, a decree was made in 1595 that excluded butchers from this bridge (only goldsmiths and jewelers are allowed) that is in effect to this day.
The association of butchers had monopolized the shops on the bridge since 1442.
The back shops (retrobotteghe) that may be seen from upriver were added in the seventeenth century.
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