The Italian bridge that’s only 98ft long but is one of Europe’s prettiest

Florence’s “Old Bridge” – in Italian “Ponte Vecchio” – is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge, connecting Via Por Santa Maria to Via de’ Guicciardini over the Arno river. 

What makes the bridge so unique is the parade of shops built along it. While these used to be taken up by butchers, tanners and farmers, today it is made up of jewellers, art dealers and souvenir shops.

This change is said to have occurred in 1565, when, in an attempt to enhance its prestige and clean it up, a decree was made by the Medici family to exclude butchers who had monopolised the expanse since 1442.

The current bridge has stood since approximately 1339 and is understood to have replaced a bridge first built in Roman times.

It played a central role in the city of Florence’s road system, starting from when it connected the Roman Florentina with the Via Cassia Nova, commissioned by Emperor Hadrian in 123AD. 

While today it stands as the oldest bridge in the city, this has not, however, always been the case. The Rubaconte Bridge was built nearly a century before Ponte Vecchio was destroyed in 1944, passing its title to the latter. Ponte Vecchio was the only bridge to survive the bombardment by the German army during their retreat at the advance of the British 8th Army in August 1944. 

Although they did not destroy it, the bridge’s access was obstructed, however, due to the destruction of the buildings at both ends. Both have since been rebuilt in a mixture of original and modern designs.

Its neighbours are the Ponte Santa Trinita, a Renaissance bridge which is the oldest elliptic arch bridge in the world, and the Ponte alle Grazie, which was reconstructed after 1945. 

The bridge is made up of three segmental arches, the main of which spans 30 metres, while the two sides each span 27 metres. The rise of the arches is between 3.5 and 4.4 metres. 

It was constructed with shallow segmental arches, which required fewer piers than the semicircular arch traditionally used by the Romans, which enabled ease of access and navigation for animal-drawn carts.

Today, the bridge is closed to vehicular traffic. It remains, however, popular with pedestrians due to its fame and the fact that it connects places of high tourist interest. This includes the Piazza del Duomo – one of the most visited places in Europe thanks to it being the home of the iconic Florence Cathedral – and the Piazza della Signoria on one side and the Palazzo Pitti and Santo Spirito church on the other. 

The bridge helps Florence maintain its status as one of Italy’s most walkable cities. 

The bridge was severely damaged in 1966 by the Flood or Arno, which ended up killing 101 people and damaged or destroyed millions of artwork and rare books. 

In the early 2000s, the 5,500 padlocks – or love locks – which were attached to the railings around the bust of Cellini (installed to honour the fourth-century birth of the great Florentine sculptor and master goldsmith) were removed due to damage. Tourists who now attach locks to the bridge are fined. 

Visitors to Ponte Vecchio have shared their love of the bridge on Tripadvisor, with one describing it as “iconic”: “Enjoyed our strolls here – browsing the windows of the ‘gold’ shops – finding that perfect souvenir. Shop owners were very friendly and welcoming.”

Another said: “The bridge and lookout point on the river is really beautiful! I also recommend viewing from another bridge so that you can see the little houses!”