Saturday, May 23, 2009

Florence: Ponte Vecchio

Looking over the Arno from the Ponte Vecchio, the only bridge spared by the Nazis during WWII.

Glittering jewelry shops line the Ponte Vecchio, the oldest of Florence's six bridges. It dates to Roman times.

A waiter prepares for the evening at his restaurant looking out over the Arno.

Some of the eye-catching costume jewelry available on the old bridge. Until the 15th century, the bridge was lined with butchers, fishmongers and produce sellers, but Ferdinando I pushed them out to make way for the more elegant goldsmiths.

The shops lining the old bridge still have living quarters on the upper floors. We're not accustomed to inhabited bridges in the 21st century, but during medieval times, this was a common architectural style.

1 comment:

Mike and KK said...

there would be lots of accidents on our bridges, ha.