Ponte Vecchio is the oldest and most famous bridge across the Arno, the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) we know today was built in 1345 by Taddeo Gaddi to replace an earlier version. The characteristic overhanging shops have lined the bridge since at least the 12th century.
In the 16th century, it was home to butchers until Cosimo I moved into the Palazzo Pitti across the river. He couldn’t stand the stench as he crossed the bridge from on high in the Corridorio Vasariano every day, so he evicted the meat cutters and moved in the classier gold- and silversmiths, tradesmen who occupy the bridge to this day.
The first wooden construction is from 972 but it was destroyed by a flood in 1117. It was redone in stone but it was devastated again in 1332 by a fire and collapsed again in 1333.
The current structure was built in 1345 from a design by Neri di Fioravante and has demonstrated a really strong stability, since it has passed through several floods and wars eversince.
To the left of the bridge, above the shops, runs a long corridor (built in 1565 under the orders of Cosimo I De’ Medici) which crosses the bridge and connects the Uffizi Gallery with Palazzo Pitti.
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