The shop-lined Ponte Vecchio over the River Arno is one of Florence’s most familiar and most romantic landmarks.
No visit to Florence would be complete without crossing the Ponte Vecchio. The oldest bridge over the Arno dates back to 1345 with its origins in the 10th century. It is the only one of the city’s historic bridges to escape destruction during the Second World War, allegedly at the express orders of Hitler himself, who enjoyed its panoramic views of the river, and its picture-postcard arches have survived numerous floods, most recently in 1966.
Today the shops that line the bridge on both sides display jewellery, antiques and souvenirs, but they would once have been occupied by butchers and greengrocers. The goldsmiths arrived at the end of the 16th century after the Grand Duke Cosimo made plans to enhance the prestige of the bridge by building the Vasari Corridor (Corridoio Vasariano) to connect the Pitti Palace, the Medici family residence, with the town hall (Palazzo Vecchio), and forced the butchers to move out because of the unpleasant smell emanating from their produce. A section of the elevated corridor passes through the Uffizi Gallery and houses the museum’s famous collection of self-portraits, although most of its route is now closed to the public.
At the midpoint of the bridge stands a striking bust of Benvenuto Cellini, the famous Florentine goldsmith. Here the viewing balconies offer unrivalled panoramas of the historic buildings that line the banks of the Arno. You may notice padlocks hanging from the railings, left there by couples following the local tradition of attaching a padlock and throwing the key into the river to bond them for life. It’s a romantic idea, but the authorities have now stepped in to curb this damaging trend by imposing a substantial fine on anyone caught locking anything to the structure. Better to stroll across hand-in-hand in the setting sun, admiring the lights as they reflect in the Arno below, and window shop for that perfect piece of jewellery to remind you of your visit to one of the most romantic bridges in all of Italy.
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