Ponte Vecchio - wikipedia Ponte Vecchio For other uses, see Ponte Vecchio ( disambiguation ). Ponte Vecchio Bridge Coordinates 43 ° 46 ′ 4.76 '' N 11 ° 15 ′ 11.49 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 43.7679889 ° N 11.2531917 ° E ﻿ / 43.7679889 ; 11.2531917 Coordinates : 43 ° 46 ′ 4.76 '' N 11 ° 15 ′ 11.49 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 43.7679889 ° N 11.2531917 ° E ﻿ / 43.7679889 ; 11.2531917 Crosses Arno River Locale Florence, Italy Characteristics Design closed - spandrel segmental stone arch bridge Width 32 metres ( 105 ft ) Longest span 30 metres ( 98 ft ) Ponte Vecchio Bridge Location in Florence Ponte Vecchio Bridge Location in Florence Show map of Florence Show map of Tuscany Show all The Ponte Vecchio ( `` Old Bridge '', Italian pronunciation : ( ˈponte ˈvɛkkjo ) ) is a medieval stone closed - spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy, noted for still having shops built along it, as was once common. Butchers initially occupied the shops ; the present tenants are jewelers, art dealers and souvenir sellers. The Ponte Vecchio 's two neighbouring bridges are the Ponte Santa Trinita and the Ponte alle Grazie. Contents 1 History and construction 2 Vasari 's Corridor 3 Benvenuto Cellini 's bust 4 Recent history 5 Gallery 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links History and construction 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. The bridge first appears in a document of 996. After being destroyed by a flood in 1117 it was reconstructed in stone but swept away again in 1333 save two of its central piers, as noted by Giovanni Villani in his Nuova Cronica. It was rebuilt in 1345. 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. Sheltered in a little loggia at the central opening of the bridge is a weathered dedication stone, which once read Nel trentatrè dopo il mille - trecento, il ponte cadde, per diluvio dell ' acque : poi dieci anni, come al Comun piacque, rifatto fu con questo adornamento. The Torre dei Mannelli was built at the southeast corner of the bridge to defend it. The bridge consists of three segmental arches : the main arch has a span of 30 meters ( 98 feet ) the two side arches each span 27 meters ( 89 feet ). The rise of the arches is between 3.5 and 4.4 meters ( 111⁄2 to 141⁄2 feet ), and the span - to - rise ratio 5 : 1. Damage shown shortly after liberation in August 1944 during World War II It has always hosted shops and merchants who displayed their goods on tables before their premises, after authorization of the Bargello ( a sort of a lord mayor, a magistrate and a police authority ). The back shops ( retrobotteghe ) that may be seen from upriver, were added in the seventeenth century. It is said that the economic concept of bankruptcy originated here : when a money - changer could not pay his debts, the table on which he sold his wares ( the `` banco '' ) was physically broken ( `` rotto '' ) by soldiers, and this practice was called `` bancorotto '' ( broken table ; possibly it can come from `` banca rotta '' which means `` broken bank '' ). Not having a table anymore, the merchant was not able to sell anything. During World War II, the Ponte Vecchio was not destroyed by Germans during their retreat on the advance of the liberating British 8th Army on August 4, 1944, unlike all other bridges in Florence. This was allegedly, according to many locals and tour guides, because of an express order by Hitler. Access to Ponte Vecchio was, however, obstructed by the destruction of the buildings at both ends, which have since been rebuilt using a combination of original and modern design. Vasari corridor from Palazzo Vecchio to Uffizi Vasari 's Corridor Main article : Vasari Corridor In order to connect the Palazzo Vecchio ( Florence 's town hall ) with the Palazzo Pitti, in 1565 Cosimo I de ' Medici had Giorgio Vasari build the Vasari Corridor above it. To enforce the prestige of the bridge, in 1593 the Medici Grand Dukes prohibited butchers from selling there ; their place was immediately taken by several gold merchants. The corporative association of butchers had monopolised the shops on the bridge since 1442. A stone with an inscription from Dante ( Paradiso xvi. 140 - 7 ) records the spot at the entrance to the bridge where Buondelmonte de ' Buondelmonti was murdered on behalf of the Amidei, in 1215, initiating the urban fighting of the Guelfs and Ghibellines. Benvenuto Cellini 's bust In 1900, to honour and mark the fourth century of the birth of the great Florentine sculptor and master goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini, the leading goldsmiths of the bridge commissioned the most renowned Florentine sculptor of the time Raffaello Romanelli to create a bronze bust of Cellini to stand atop a fountain in the middle of the Eastern side of the bridge, where it stands to this day. Recent history Along the Ponte Vecchio, there can be seen many padlocks affixed in various places, especially to the railing around the statue of Benvenuto Cellini. This is a recent tradition for the Ponte Vecchio, although it has been practiced in Russia and in Asia before. It was perhaps introduced by the padlock shop owner at the end of the bridge. It is popularly connected to idea of love and lovers : by locking the padlock and throwing the key into the river, the lovers became eternally bonded. This is an example of the negative impact of mass tourism : thousands of padlocks needed to be removed frequently, spoiling or damaging the structure of the centuries - old bridge ; however, it seems to have decreased after the city administration put a sign on the bridge mentioning a € 160 penalty for those caught locking something to the fence. There is a similar ongoing padlock phenomenon at Ponte Milvio, due to one of Federico Moccia 's books. The bridge was severely damaged in the 1966 flood of the Arno. The bridge is mentioned in the aria `` O mio babbino caro '' by Giacomo Puccini. Panoramic view of the Ponte Vecchio, from the West. Gallery View from Michelangelo Park Florence Ponte Vecchio bridge at night View across the bridge. Ponte Vecchio Arno River and Ponte Vecchio Panorama of Ponte Vecchio Fireworks The Ponte Vecchio during a sunset. See also Vasari Corridor Krämerbrücke Pulteney Bridge Notes ^ Jump up to : Ponte Vecchio. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Jump up ^ `` Dizionario d'ortografia e di pronunzia '' ( in Italian ). Rai. Retrieved 2010 - 02 - 24. ^ Jump up to : Touring Club Italiano, Firenze e dintorni 1964 : 321 ^ Jump up to : Zucconi, Guido ( 1995 ). Florence : An Architectural Guide. San Giovanni Lupatoto, Vr, Italy : Arsenale Editrice srl. ISBN 88 - 7743 - 147 - 4. Jump up ^ Bartlett, Kenneth R. ( 1992 ). The Civilization of the Italian Renaissance. Toronto : D.C. Heath and Company. ISBN 0 - 669 - 20900 - 7 ( Paperback ). Page 40. Jump up ^ Melaragno, Michele G ( 1998 ). Preliminary Design of Bridges for Architects and Engineers. Marcel Dekker. p. 3. ISBN 0 - 8247 - 0184 - 4. Jump up ^ Translated it would read, `` In the thirty - third year following thirteen hundred, the bridge fell, from a watery flood : ten years later, at the pleasure of the Commune, it was rebuilt, with this adornment ''. ( Touring Club Italiano, Firenze e dintorni 1964 : 321 ) Jump up ^ Ponte Vecchio at Structurae. Retrieved on 2007 - 02 - 16 Jump up ^ Oxford English Dictionary, it gives the origin as from the Italian banca rotta `` broken bench '', but not specifically from this bridge. online, ' ( 1 ) '. Jump up ^ Dictionary.com, an Ask.com Service, it gives the origin as from the Italian Banca Rotta `` broken moneylenders bench '', and is first recorded in 1552. It does not specifically link it with this bridge, ' ( 2 ) '. Jump up ^ Encyclopædia Britannica online, ' Ponte Vecchio '. Jump up ^ Brucker, Gene ( 1983 ). Renaissance Florence. University of California Press. p. 8. ISBN 0 - 520 - 04695 - 1. Jump up ^ `` Rumour has it... Hitler and the Ponte Vecchio ''. Time Travel Turtle. Retrieved 20 November 2012. Jump up ^ `` A history of the Ponte Vecchio, Florence ''. Holiday Velvet. Retrieved 20 November 2012. Jump up ^ `` Florence : Walk with the Medicis over the Ponte Vecchio plebs ''. London : The Independent. 6 January 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2012. Jump up ^ Sculpted by Raffaele Romanelli in 1900 ( Touring Club Italiano, Firenze e dintorni 1964 : 321 ). Jump up ^ Ponte Vecchio at web site of the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz References Flanigan, Theresa, `` The Ponte Vecchio and the Art of Urban Planning in Late Medieval Florence, '' Gesta 47 ( 2008 ) : 1 - 15. Fletcher, Banister : A History of Architecture ( London : The Butterworth Group, 1987, ISBN 0 - 408 - 01587 - X ) pp. 756 -- 757 Chiarugi, Andrea, ' Maintenance of the Ponte Vecchio historical bridge in Florence ', in Extending the Lifespan of Structures, Vol. 2 ( San Francisco : IABSE Symposium Report, 1995 ) pp. 1479 -- 1484 Graf, Bernhard, Bridges that Changed the World ( Munich, Germany : Prestel, 2002, ISBN 3 - 7913 - 2701 - 1 ) pp. 38 -- 39 External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ponte Vecchio. Independent study of Ponte Vecchio with Pictures Ponte Vecchio at Structurae Ponte Vecchio, Florence Ponte Vecchio Overview Virtual Tour of Ponte Vecchio Tourism in Florence Religious sites Basilicas Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore S Lorenzo Medici Chapel S Croce Baroncelli and Pazzi Chapels S Maria Novella Tornabuoni Chapel SS Annunziata S Marco S Miniato al Monte S Maria del Carmine Brancacci Chapel S Trinita Bartolini Salimbeni Chapel Sassetti Chapel S Spirito Churches Badia Fiorentina Battistero di San Giovanni S Mary of the Angels Certosa Orsanmichele Ognissanti Oratorio dei Vanchetoni Oratory of Gesù Pellegrino Oratory of S Thomas Aquinas San Frediano in Cestello S Gaetano S Giovannino degli Scolopi S Giovannino dei Cavalieri S Jacopo sopr'Arno S Salvatore al Vescovo S Ambrogio S Felicita Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi S Maria Maggiore S Martino del Vescovo Ss Apostoli S Pancrazio S Salvi Ss Simone e Giuda S Stefano al Ponte Other Great Synagogue Museums, galleries and palaces Bargello Casa Buonarroti Casa Guidi Galleria dell'Accademia David Garden of Archimedes Loggia del Bigallo Loggia del Mercato Nuovo Loggia del Pesce Loggia Rucellai Museo dell'Opera del Duomo Museo Galileo Museo Nazionale Alinari della Fotografia Museo Nazionale di San Marco Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze La Specola National Archaeological Museum Orsanmichele Ospedale degli Innocenti Palazzo dell'Arte dei Beccai Palazzo Davanzati Palazzo Gondi Palazzo Medici Riccardi Magi Chapel Palazzo Pitti Museo delle Porcellane Palazzo Vecchio Studiolo of Francesco I Palazzo Spini Feroni Stibbert Museum Uffizi Loggia dei Lanzi Vasari Corridor Towers ( Torri ) degli Amidei Giotto 's Campanile degli Alberti dei Della Bella dei Gianfigliazzi dei Mannelli dei Pulci Library Biblioteca Riccardiana at Palazzo Medici Riccardi British Institute of Florence Gabinetto Vieusseux ( Palazzo Strozzi ) Kunsthistorisches Institut Laurentian Library National Central Library Landmarks Fountain of Neptune Giotto 's Campanile Ponte Vecchio Monument to Dante Theatres Teatro Comunale Florence Teatro della Pergola Teatro Verdi Squares Squares of Florence Piazza del Duomo Piazza della Repubblica Piazza Santa Croce Piazza della Signoria Streets Via Cavour Via de ' Tornabuoni Fort Belvedere Fortezza da Basso Gardens and parks Boboli Gardens Giardino Bardini Giardino dell'Iris Giardino delle rose Orto Botanico di Firenze Parco delle Cascine Villas Medici villas di Castello La Petraia di Careggi Medicea L'Ambrogiana del Poggio Imperiale Gamberaia I Tatti Il Gioiello La Pietra Rusciano Events and traditions Calcio Fiorentino Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Scoppio del carro Districts of Florence Trams in Florence Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ponte_Vecchio&oldid=805188254 '' Categories : Buildings and structures completed in 1345 Deck arch bridges Bridges in Florence Jewellery districts Shopping districts and streets in Italy Stone bridges in Italy Tourist attractions in Florence Bridges completed in the 14th century Hidden categories : CS1 Italian - language sources ( it ) Structurae ID different from Wikidata Coordinates on Wikidata All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from August 2008 Articles with unsourced statements from November 2015 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Български Bosanski Català Čeština Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français 한국어 Հայերեն Italiano עברית ქართული Қазақша Lëtzebuergesch Lietuvių Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Scots Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt West - Vlams 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 13 October 2017, at 17 : 20. 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Question: what is the famous bridge in florence italy
Answer: Ponte Vecchio