Bridge in Florence Ponte. Ponte Vecchio - old bridge of Florence

11.05.2020

Florence has experienced many events in its lifetime. One of the “witnesses” of its history is the bridge Ponte Vecchio(Italian: Ponte Vecchio, or Old Bridge). This is the most old bridge in Florence. Once upon a time, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarotti, Niccolo Machiavelli and other famous Florentines may have walked peacefully along it. Once upon a time, standing in the Vasari corridor, Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, overheard what the people thought about him. At first they traded meat here, and then gold traders came here. The bridge stands on the same place for almost the 17th century, and people still trade here, sing songs, and travelers gather here. Ponte Vecchio is living history Florence.

History of the bridge

This bridge is located at one of the narrowest points of the Arno River. During the Roman Empire, it was part of the Cassian Way, which connected Rome and Tuscany. Then it was completely far from its modern appearance - it was a wooden bridge on stone piles. Subsequently, it suffered from a flood and was rebuilt, but from stone. This gave the bridge the opportunity to last another 200 years, until another flood, in 1333, demolished it.

But after 12 years they built a new bridge, the appearance of which has been preserved to this day. The city grew significantly during this time, so the architect Neri di Fiorovanti decided that the bridge could no longer serve as a full-fledged crossing. Since then, merchants' shops, workshops, and forges have appeared here. Towers were erected to protect the bridge, the most famous of which is Mannelli's Tower. By the 15th century, Ponte Vecchio had become the center of the meat trade. The authorities of the then existing Florentine Republic decided to rid the city of the stench and concentrate all the butchers in one place. This place became the Old Bridge.

Then the bridge was overgrown with another building. Above the buildings located on the bridge there is a corridor-gallery, which is completely isolated from them. This building is part of a special project that was created to connect two Florentine castles: Pallazzo Pitti and Pallazzo Vecchio. Through them, the ruler calmly moved from his residential residence to his work one, while he had the opportunity to spy and overhear what the people were talking about. This corridor got its name from the designer - the Vasari Corridor. Somewhat later, in the 16th century, butchers were replaced by jewelers. At the same time, another name was assigned to it - “Golden Bridge”.

In the 20th century, the bridge remained true to its purpose. At the end of the Second World War, during the German retreat from Italy, all the bridges in Florence were blown up, but the Old Bridge remained intact: either thanks to the partisans from the Resistance, or thanks to Hitler’s personal decree. In 1966, the Arno River again flooded heavily; the bridge was not destroyed, but was badly damaged. The bridge is now recognized architectural monument, this is a must-see place for tourists.

Design features and functions of the bridge

Ponte Vecchio is a typical segmental arch bridge. They were built during the era of the Roman Empire; several similar bridges can be found in different areas Italy and beyond. It stands at a height of 3.5-4 meters above the water, which is typical for such bridges. The bridge is quite wide - 30 meters. On its sides are crowded jewelers' shops and various shops. They used to follow a straight line, but after some changes it was broken. In the area of the central arch, the chain of buildings is interrupted: there is a platform from which you can see the bed of the Arno River, the embankment, neighboring bridges and buildings adjacent to the banks. The length of the central arch is 32 meters, the other two are 27 meters.

Just above the bridge, the section of the corridor is equipped with panoramic windows from which you can observe the surroundings on both sides of the bridge. Other sections of the corridor serve as a gallery. There are paintings by local artists from different times. The gallery's collection contains about 1.4 thousand paintings, including self-portraits of artists.

Also on the bridge is a bust of the jeweler, artist, sculptor and simply famous Florentine Benvenuto Cellini. This place is significant for couples in love: they come to this bust and hang a padlock on the fence, which is a symbol of strong love. According to local stories, this tradition was introduced by a local lock seller whose store is located at the end of the bridge. As in any other similar places, this is a headache for city authorities: they simply do not have time to cut the locks. Therefore, a high fine was set - 160 euros.

Location

Address: Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge), Firenze, Italy.
The Ponte Vecchio is located in the city center, next to the Uffizi Gallery. From the north, Por Santa Maria street abuts the bridge. Nearby are the Ponte alle Grazie and Santa Trinita bridges.

How to get there

The easiest way is to take a taxi. It is also possible to public transport: “VOLA IN BUS” buses run around the city, go to the “Stary Most” stop.

In contact with

A story about the unique Florentine bridge Ponte Vecchio. One of the few remaining fully built bridges. But it is unique for other reasons.

Ponte Vecchio is one of the main calling cards of wonderful Florence. It is located in the very bottleneck of the Arno River and connects the two parts of the legendary Italian city. This bridge is notable for several reasons.

The oldest bridge in Florence

It was built by the architect Neri di Fioravanti in 1345 and to this day the bridge has practically not changed its appearance. Even during the Second World War it survived, although all other bridges were blown up. True, the reasons given are different. Some believe that thanks to the Resistance, while others believe that it is to undermine cultural heritage Adolf Hitler himself banned it by personal decree. By the way, one of the few modernizations of the bridge is associated with the German dictator. Even before the World War, Mussolini specially made an observation deck with large rectangular windows on the inside of the Vasari Corridor for the arrival of the guest of honor. It was decided to leave these windows, and they have survived to this day.

Photo by: Carlo Broggi. The photo was taken before 1925

The Last of the Mohicans

The Ponte Vecchio gives us an idea of what city crossings looked like in late Middle Ages. The fact is that there was not much free space in the city, and in the megacities of that time, bridges were often lined with houses or trading shops. For example, it was completely built up. It contained more than a hundred different types of buildings. By the way, if you read the novel “Perfume” or, then it was on the Pont de Change that Baldini’s shop was located, which collapsed into the Seine along with its owner. But at some point, the main bridges in Europe were cleared of buildings, but the Ponte Vecchio survived and has continued to amaze guests of Florence for hundreds of years.

Vasari's secret corridor inside the bridge

Numerous tourists walking along the bridge do not always know that right above their heads lies another path to the other side of the river. We are talking about a secret corridor. It was designed by the architect Vasari, in whose honor the secret passage received its name. Construction began in 1565 on the initiative of Duke Cosimo I, who belonged to the legendary Medici dynasty. The main purpose of the move is to connect the two banks of the river so that the Duke can move from the Vecchio Palace to the Pitti residence unnoticed. Why not just walk across the bridge, you think? There are at least three reasons for this:

Planning a trip? That way!
We have prepared some useful gifts for you. They will help you save money while preparing for your trip.

For safety

When we talk about Florence and the Medici, we are a priori talking about the struggle for power. This means that the life of a ruler may depend on the ability to move unnoticed from one building to another.

For comfort

The bridge is a busy place of trade. During Cosimo's time, butchers' shops were located there. Since few people cared about the sanitary situation, the bridge exuded the bone-chilling smells of rotten meat and waste. The presence of a separate corridor made the situation somewhat easier. By the way, butchers were permanent residents of the bridge until the 16th century, after which they were replaced by jewelry stores and the atmosphere became lighter.

For spying

Since there were always a lot of residents hanging around the butcher shops who gave free rein to their tongues, the Duke of Tuscany took advantage of this for banal eavesdropping. According to rumors, the most careless talkers could be imprisoned the very next day.

Home of bankruptcy

There is an interesting story connected with the bridge. There is a legend that this is where the term “bankruptcy” originated. This is due to the fact that when a merchant on the Ponte Vecchio finally went bankrupt, the city guards came and broke (rotto) his counter (banco). This procedure was called “bancorotto”. After a person lost his counter, he could no longer engage in trade. In other words, he was declared bankrupt.

The famous French writer Maurice Druon talks about the spirit of this place:

A story about the unique Florentine bridge Ponte Vecchio. One of the few remaining fully built bridges. But it is unique for other reasons.

Ponte Vecchio is one of the main calling cards of wonderful Florence. It is located at the narrowest point of the Arno River and connects the two parts of the legendary Italian city. This bridge is notable for several reasons.

The oldest bridge in Florence

It was built by the architect Neri di Fioravanti in 1345 and to this day the bridge has practically not changed its appearance. Even during the Second World War it survived, although all other bridges were blown up. True, the reasons given are different. Some believe that thanks to the Resistance, while others believe that Adolf Hitler himself forbade the undermining of cultural heritage by personal decree. By the way, one of the few modernizations of the bridge is associated with the German dictator. Even before the World War, Mussolini specially made an observation deck with large rectangular windows on the inside of the Vasari Corridor for the arrival of the guest of honor. It was decided to leave these windows, and they have survived to this day.

Photo by: Carlo Broggi. The photo was taken before 1925

The Last of the Mohicans

The Ponte Vecchio gives us an idea of what city crossings looked like in the late Middle Ages. The fact is that there was not much free space in the city, and in the megacities of that time, bridges were often lined with houses or trading shops. For example, it was completely built up. It contained more than a hundred different types of buildings. By the way, if you read the novel “Perfume” or, then it was on the Pont de Change that Baldini’s shop was located, which collapsed into the Seine along with its owner. But at some point, the main bridges in Europe were cleared of buildings, but the Ponte Vecchio survived and has continued to amaze guests of Florence for hundreds of years.

Vasari's secret corridor inside the bridge

Planning a trip? That way!
We have prepared some useful gifts for you. They will help you save money while preparing for your trip.

For safety

When we talk about Florence and the Medici, we are a priori talking about the struggle for power. This means that the life of a ruler may depend on the ability to move unnoticed from one building to another.

For comfort

The bridge is a busy place of trade. During Cosimo's time, butchers' shops were located there. Since few people cared about the sanitary situation, the bridge exuded the bone-chilling smells of rotten meat and waste. The presence of a separate corridor made the situation somewhat easier. By the way, butchers were permanent residents of the bridge until the 16th century, after which they were replaced by jewelry stores and the atmosphere became lighter.

For spying

Since there were always a lot of residents hanging around the butcher shops who gave free rein to their tongues, the Duke of Tuscany took advantage of this for banal eavesdropping. According to rumors, the most careless talkers could be imprisoned the very next day.

Home of bankruptcy

There is an interesting story connected with the bridge. There is a legend that this is where the term “bankruptcy” originated. This is due to the fact that when a merchant on the Ponte Vecchio finally went bankrupt, the city guards came and broke (rotto) his counter (banco). This procedure was called “bancorotto”. After a person lost his counter, he could no longer engage in trade. In other words, he was declared bankrupt.

The famous French writer Maurice Druon talks about the spirit of this place:

Each city has its own building, which is its symbol and is associated with the city. Along with Cathedral Florence, the old Renaissance bridge called Ponte Vecchio is the city's most striking place

Most famous bridge in Florence, and also the oldest of the city's bridges. Ponte Vecchio- structure with three stone arches, built to replace the old one wooden bridge, which has crossed the Arno River at this location since Roman times. The upper side of the bridge, known as the Vasariano Corridor, was designed by the architect Vasari to link the Palazzo Vecchio and Uffizi Gallery with the Pitti Palace. Today it houses a famous art gallery.

This bridge is built up and inhabited by people. Originally there were grocery stores here, but by the end of the 15th century Ponte Vecchio was favored by jewelers and silversmiths. In the middle of the bridge there is an open area from where you can watch the river and its banks.

It is said that this is where the economic concept of bankruptcy came from: when a seller could no longer pay his debts, soldiers came and destroyed (rotto) his trading post (banco). This practice became known as “bancorotto” (broken table). Since the merchant no longer had a table, he was no longer able to sell anything.

During World War II, the Ponte Vecchio was not destroyed by the Germans during their retreat on August 4, 1944, unlike all other bridges in Florence. Hitler was given a special order to leave the bridge intact and unharmed. Access to it was, however, difficult due to destroyed buildings on both sides of the river. Later, all the buildings were rebuilt, some of them according to original designs, and some according to new ones

Along the Ponte Vecchio there have always been many padlocks attached to various places, especially on the railings around the statue of Benvenuto Chelini. This tradition appeared in Florence recently, although it has existed in Russia and Asia for a long time (for example, the bridge of love in Moscow). The owner of the lock shop at the end of the bridge contributed to this. Lovers hang locks by closing the lock and throwing the key into the river, which symbolizes eternal love. This is a good example of the negative impact of mass tourism: thousands of locks were periodically removed, deteriorating or damaging the structure of the century-old bridge. Over time, they stopped doing this after the city government placed a sign on the bridge mentioning a fine of 50? for one lock of love. It turned out that those who want to seal their love are over 50? significantly less

Bridge in Florence Ponte Vecchio (translated as the old bridge), built in 1345 across the Arno River, located at the narrowest point of the river, almost opposite the Uffizi Gallery. The Ponte Vecchio bridge, built by the architect Neri di Fioravanti and having a length of 30 m, is now one of the most famous bridges in the world. This is the oldest bridge in Florence, which has also retained its original appearance and has not undergone reconstruction like other bridges.
At first, there were butcher shops on the Ponte Vecchio bridge, but Lorenzo Medici, who hated the smell of meat, replaced them with jewelry workshops. Since the 16th century, jewelers' shops and shops have been built on the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. Since then, the bridge has earned itself another, unofficial name - “Golden Bridge”. Only the only jewelry workshop and store of the Peccini family has survived to this day. There is also a bust of Benvenuto Cellini on the bridge.
This thirty-meter bridge in Florence managed to survive both the floods and the bombings of 1944. November 4, 1966 it was almost destroyed during a major flood, but, nevertheless, managed to survive even when the water rose to the level of the windows and began to penetrate inside, washing away everything and taking away entire display cases. Now the Ponte Vecchio is a symbol of Florence.
The famous Golden Bridge in Florence also has its own secret - right above the shops built on it there runs a long kilometer-long corridor, built in the 16th century by order of Cosimo I de' Medici. This corridor is called Vasari, it is closed to the public and the keys to it are now kept by only one person - Roberto Zanieri. If you walk along the corridor, along its entire length on the walls you can see a huge collection of self-portraits, the largest in the world.

Why did the ruler need the Vasari corridor? Through it, the Medici could easily get directly to their Palazzo Pitti palace from the Florentine bridge. Palazzo Vecchio through the Uffizi Gallery without an escort. A similar passage through which King Priam got from his palace to the palaces of his sons was described in the Iliad. Perhaps it was the reading of the Iliad that inspired Cosimo de' Medici to build the Vasari Corridor, which runs over the Ponte Vecchio bridge in Florence. Another advantage of Vasari was that he allowed the ruler to observe what was happening in the city through small windows, while remaining unnoticed by the townspeople. In other words, to see while remaining invisible.
Currently, Florence has ten bridges. Before 1957 there were only six of them, and over the course of a number of centuries they were rebuilt several times. All bridges, with the exception of the Ponte Vecchio, were reconstructed after World War II. However, before the Second World War, during the reign of Mussolini, specially for the arrival of Hitler, the interior of the Vasari Corridor in the central part was made Observation deck with large rectangular windows that have survived to this day.