Ponte Vecchio

The Ponte Vecchio (Italian pronunciation: [ˈponte ˈvɛkkjo]; "Old Bridge") is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno, in Florence, Italy. The only bridge in Florence spared from destruction during World War II, it is noted for the shops built along it; building shops on such bridges was once a common practice. Butchers, tanners, and farmers initially occupied the shops; the present tenants are jewellers, art dealers, and souvenir sellers. The Ponte Vecchio's two neighbouring bridges are the Ponte Santa Trinita and the Ponte alle Grazie.

The bridge connects Via Por Santa Maria (Lungarno degli Acciaiuoli and Lungarno degli Archibusieri) to Via de' Guicciardini (Borgo San Jacopo and Via de' Bardi).

The name was given to what was the oldest Florentine bridge when the Ponte alla Carraia was built, then called Ponte Nuovo in contrast to the old one. Beyond the historical value, the bridge over time has played a central role in the city road system, starting from when it connected the Roman Florentia with the Via Cassia Nova commissioned by the emperor Hadrian in 123 AD.

In contemporary times, despite being closed to vehicular traffic, the bridge is crossed by a considerable pedestrian flow generated both by its fame and by the fact that it connects places of high tourist interest on the two banks of the river: Piazza del Duomo, Piazza della Signoria on one side with the area of Palazzo Pitti and Santo Spirito in the Oltrarno.

The bridge appears in the list drawn up in 1901 by the General Directorate of Antiquities and Fine Arts, as a monumental building to be considered having national artistic heritage.

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.^{[citation needed]} 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.

This location marks one of the earliest crossings of the Arno in Florence, possibly originating from Roman times or even before. Although floods have repeatedly damaged it, the current bridge has stood since approximately 1339-1345. For many years, the only older bridge in the city was the Rubaconte bridge, built nearly a century earlier. But after significant 19th-century modifications to that structure and its destruction in 1944, the Ponte Vecchio claimed its title as the oldest bridge in Florence.

Giorgio Vasari recorded the traditional view of his day that attributed its design to Taddeo Gaddi— besides Giotto one of the few artistic names of the trecento still recalled two hundred years later. Modern historians present Neri di Fioravanti as a possible candidate as the builder.