Famous Bridge in Italy

        Ponte Vecchio, which is located in Florence, Italy, is also an example of “no sky” street area. It is one of the oldest bridges in Florence so it is called old bridge. In Italian, Ponte Vecchio means “old bridge”. Now this bridge is a well-known tourist spot, one of the must-visit sites.

History of the Bridge

        Ponte Vecchio, was the most important traffic passage communicating the north area with the south area of Florence. It is also the oldest among all the bridges crossing the local river, Arno, and it got the name meaning “old bridge”. The buildings on this bridge are two floors high so passengers walking between them would not be exposed to sun. Now it is the center of various jewel or metal shops. It used to be the hallway of Uffizi Palace to the Pitti Palace on another shore and both sides of it are shops of specialties, mainly selling jewels and precious metals. There were special regulations on crossing this bridge. Common people could only walk through the lower floor while the noble and the rich could pass through the higher floor. This bridge can offer us the track of historic change. The upper bridge that used to allow the nobles only now allows any civilians.

        This bridge, like Hong Bridge, had been damaged by flood and war. One is the flood in 1333 and another is that near the end of WWII, Germany Army had bombed a part of this bridge but it was rebuilt based on the original appearance. This bridge might have been built as early as 14C by the greatest mason in Florence, Nieli. Nieli was very experience in building a vault, the most dangerous and difficult part. He was responsible for two very well-know vault constructions. One is the 18-meter-wide giant vault of Via del Proconsolo while the other is the newly-built vault of Ponte Vecchio. The stores on the bridge were run by iron smiths, butchers, and leather sellers but they were driven away by Duke Fernando. Then jewel and gold sellers took their place and the atmosphere on this bridge changed dramatically. Along the above of this bridge, Corridoio Vasariano (above the shops connecting Signoria Palace to Pitti Palace.)

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The Bridge Today

        Now there are some gold and jewel shops on the bridge and on the shore of the old bridge. The hand work and design are very delicate. It is not only a place that many tourist visit in Italy but also a popular spot for movie shooting.