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2017_09_09_Italy-10280_DxO_edit1000.jpg - The Ponte Vecchio is one of the bridges that crosses the Arno River. It truly is "the old Bridge" dating back to the Roman Era. It is unique in that not only is it a roadway but it also is a market place and a piazza. The first shops were built on the Ponte Vecchio in 1345 and were rented mostly by artisans and merchants. By the 1400's these became privtely owned and changes were made, enlarging the shops and adding terraces. The building laws of the time did not allow for changes to be made on the pavement, so the building was done over the Arno and held up by wooden stakes - giving them the appearance of being suspended in air. In the late 1500's The Duke Di'Medici Ferdinand I evicted the artisans and merchants and replaced them with silver and goldsmiths, gentrifying the bridge as Florence became the center of Renaissance art and culture. This transformed the bridge into what we saw as we walked over it with it's wooden doors and the windows filled with gold and silver and gems (and even I couldn't resist, as much as I hate shopping for jewelry - I came home with two new pair of earrings thanks to my honey).

The Ponte Vecchio is one of the bridges that crosses the Arno River. It truly is "the old Bridge" dating back to the Roman Era. It is unique in that not only is it a roadway but it also is a market place and a piazza. The first shops were built on the Ponte Vecchio in 1345 and were rented mostly by artisans and merchants. By the 1400's these became privtely owned and changes were made, enlarging the shops and adding terraces. The building laws of the time did not allow for changes to be made on the pavement, so the building was done over the Arno and held up by wooden stakes - giving them the appearance of being suspended in air. In the late 1500's The Duke Di'Medici Ferdinand I evicted the artisans and merchants and replaced them with silver and goldsmiths, gentrifying the bridge as Florence became the center of Renaissance art and culture. This transformed the bridge into what we saw as we walked over it with it's wooden doors and the windows filled with gold and silver and gems (and even I couldn't resist, as much as I hate shopping for jewelry - I came home with two new pair of earrings thanks to my honey). | 2017_09_09_Italy-10280_DxO_edit1000.jpg

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