Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge). Bridges of Florence Excursions in Florence and surrounding areas

Ponte Vecchio Old Bridge) is the oldest and most famous of the seven bridges in Florence that span the Arno River.

The Ponte Vecchio as we know it today was built in 1345 by the architect Taddeo Gaddi and is an elegant three-arched structure with numerous shops located on the sides of the bridge.

This bridge fascinated me at first sight. No, not even that. I was waiting to see this bridge. Even before my trip to Florence, I knew that this bridge is one of the main attractions of Florence (and this city is very rich in terms of attractions!).

I also knew that there are almost no bridges of this kind in Europe today; I also heard that the one described by Patrick Suskind in the novel The Perfumer famous bridge The money changer used to be very similar in appearance to the Ponte Vecchio. It’s just that the Parisian bridge is now completely different (see pictures at the end of the post), but the Florentine bridge has retained its original medieval flavor. This bridge looks especially mesmerizing in a dark Tuscan night with a full moon:

don’t judge strictly, because the following one served as a tripod for shooting, also very ancient bridge, with fences very chipped from time to time:

Let's see what Ponte Vecchio looks like at night?

At night all the shops are locked. Moreover, today all this looks exactly like it did many centuries ago:

According to the traditions of the Middle Ages, the bridge was divided into 38 absolutely equal in size sections on which trade was carried out. Traders also lived here. On the second floors, above their shops and warehouses.

Previously, first butchers traded here, then grocers, blacksmiths and other traders. And even later, by order of the ruler Florence Ferdinand I was allowed to trade only in jewelry here. They are still sold today.

But butchers were banned from trading on the bridge for a very interesting reason. This reason is the construction of the Vasari Corridor - a kilometer-long covered gallery passing over the Ponte Vecchio bridge. The corridor was built in 1564 according to the design of Giorgio Vasari. It was built in just 5 months, for the wedding of Francesco I de'Medici and Giovanna of Austria. The corridor is a covered passage running high above the ground, almost 1 km long and connecting the Pitti Palace (Palazzo Pitti) , which served as the residence of the Grand Duke, and the Uffizi, or the offices where he worked. You can see in the photo below - under the red-tiled roof, starting on the right, in the Uffizi Gallery, the Vasari corridor, bending at a right angle, goes over the Ponte Vecchio bridge. Due to the fact that the residents of one of the towers through which the gallery was supposed to pass did not agree to leave their homes, the gallery has a somewhat unusual curved shape. This can be clearly seen in the photo below.

And in this photo you can clearly see: the Ponte Vecchio bridge, the Uffizi Gallery, and the Varzari corridor (photo taken from high point, which is called Piazzale Michelangelo, I will definitely write about this place)

Starting from the western corridor of the Uffizi Gallery (entrance between rooms 25 and 34), the corridor opens to the river, and then along the banks of the Arno River, along the Old Bridge (Ponte Vecchio) to the Pitti Palace. At that time, there was a meat market on the bridge, the unpleasant odors of which could offend the aristocratic nose of the Duke. So the market was moved to another place, and since then (more precisely, since 1593) there have been jewelers' shops on the bridge.

During the day the bridge is bustling with life. Crowds of tourists stare and ask prices at the jewelry displayed in ancient shops.

And the balcony photographed the night before (all in flowers), which seemed like a theater set, in the light of day takes on a completely residential and cozy look:

And the bust of Benvenuto Cellini on the bridge is a traditional hangout for all hippies in Florence.

So, just for reference: The Bridge of Changers (French: Pont au Change) is a bridge in the center of Paris, spanning the Seine River. The bridge got its name because of the many money changers’ shops that were previously located in the houses that built up the bridge until 1788.

It is believed that it was this bridge that Patrick Suskind described in his novel “Perfume”. The Money Changer's Bridge is mentioned in Patrick Suskind's novel Perfume. The story of a murderer" - on the bridge there is the house and shop of the perfumer Baldini. On the same night when the main character of the novel, Grenouille, leaves Baldini's house, the Bridge of Changers collapses along with the sleeping perfumer. At the end of the 18th century, all buildings from the bridge were demolished. Modern look The bridge was acquired by the Moneychanger during the Second Empire under Baron Osman.

History of the Ponte Vecchio

The first bridge at the narrowest point of the Arno River, in the area of the ford, was built under the Romans, approximately in the 1st century BC. e. Work on the river bed shortly after World War II revealed a concrete foundation laid at an angle to the banks so that the bridge could withstand frequent destructive floods. Until 123, the width of the bridge increased to 3 m, because the Cassian road was built through it, intended for communication between Rome and the northern provinces. Imperfect Roman architectural tricks did not save the bridge: in the VI-VII centuries. it was destroyed by the combined efforts of the elements and crowds of barbarians who swept across Italy. In the Middle Ages, the restored bridge was swept away by floods at least twice. The penultimate version was built in 1177 on oak beams left over from its predecessor. The flood of 1333, the most violent in the history of the Arno, destroyed it too.

In 1345, the city authorities got tired of paying for regular reconstructions, and they ordered the architect to design a stone bridge. Giorgio Vasari, artist and art historian, claims that this master was Taddeo Gaddi, modern researchers doubt this and attribute the authorship to Neri di Fioravanti. In any case, the new stone bridge, which after some time received the name Vecchio, that is, “old,” quickly became a lively trading place. For sanitary reasons beyond our understanding, butchers' shops were moved here so that they would not leave waste on the street near the palaces of the nobility, but would throw it into the river. Soon the portable tables seemed too small for the traders, and the sides of the bridge were overgrown with buildings mounted above the water on brackets. This did not add to his beauty, but there was no end to visitors.

This bridge is considered the oldest in all of Florence, and yet it is unlike any other bridge in Italy. The arched bridge, spanning the narrowest point of the Arno River, has retained its almost original appearance since its construction in 1345 to this day.

History of the attraction

The current Ponte Vecchio bridge in Florence today spans the Arno River and is a subject of keen interest to tourists. It represents the third river crossing built in this place in Italy.

The first viaduct was built back in the era Ancient Rome . It was made of wood and stood on stone pylons. Having long outlived its builders, the crossing was destroyed in 1117 by a severe flood. The second bridge, built taking into account previous construction errors, lasted for almost two centuries, but it also suffered the same fate as the first - the severe flood of the Arno in 1333 destroyed Ponte Vecchio almost to the ground.

During the construction of the third viaduct, the architects had to work hard to finally find a solution in which the crossing would be strong enough to withstand the onslaught of water in the event of a possible river flood. By the way, this had to be tested in practice - many centuries later, in 1966, another rise in water flooded both the Ponte Vecchio and the Vasari Gallery, causing damage to both artisans’ shops and priceless works of art...

In the meantime, in the 14th century, Florentine architects were deciding how to combine architectural elegance and structural strength. By the way, historians are still racking their brains as to who is the author Who is the actual architect of the project? The fact is that according to some documents, the architect of the building is named Taddeo Gaddi, and later sources assure that the project belongs to Neri di Fioravante.

The name of the bridge is translated from Italian as “Old Bridge”.

Ponte Vecchio received its second name - Golden - not because it is of architectural value. Starting from the 16th century, traders of one or another product settled on the bridge, having received permission from the municipality to build retail shops. And the largest number of these shops belonged to jewelers. Only one shop that began trading from those times has survived to this day - a jewelry shop owned by the Peccini family.

According to medieval traditions, Ponte Vecchio was divided into 38 sections, on which trade was carried out. The traders lived here, in these same areas. Moreover, the store area was barely enough to place goods, so the shops were expanded and built on - they literally hung over the water. Today we can see the panorama of the landmark and small houses, as if stuck to its sides. By the way, shops and shops today have almost the same appearance as they did in the 16th century.

In the 20th century, during the Second World War, the bridge fortunately escaped the fate of being destroyed. In 1938, Adolf Hitler arrived in Florence for a visit. He got acquainted with the main attractions of the city, visited, on the Ponte Vecchio bridge - an observation deck was specially built for the arrival of the Fuhrer. A few years later, during the war, during the retreat German soldiers, many buildings (including historical ones) were blown up, but Ponte Vecchio avoided a similar fate.

According to one version, Hitler involuntarily admired the resilience of the Resistance fighters who defended the bridge and the palaces that surrounded it; according to another version, he simply could not forget the amazing panorama of the Arno River from observation deck Ponte Vecchio...

Want to know more about the sights of Florence? Check out the history of the construction of the famous cathedral located on the territory of the city!

Legends of Florence associated with the building

Residents love to tell stories and legends associated with this attraction. In particular, stories about how and why jewelry shops appeared on the viaduct. There are three historical versions of this fact.

According to the first version, in 1442 a special decree was issued that all meat and fish merchants should move to one, strictly defined place in the city, so that unpleasant odors would not offend the sense of smell of noble gentlemen in the palaces.

By order of the city rulers, all fish and butcher shops were now located in the area of the Ponte Vecchio crossing. This continued until in 1556, by order of the Duke of Tuscany Cosimo de' Medici, the Vasari Corridor was built, connecting the Palazzo Pitti.

Every time, passing along the Vasari corridor, the Tuscan ruler winced and covered his nose- the smells that reached him were not the aristocratic smells of fish and meat, but also the smell of spoiled goods that were being dumped into the river. His son Ferdinando, who became ruler after his father, was not so tolerant.

During one journey from the Old Palace to Palazzo Pitti, Ferdinando became so angry because of the terrible odors that he ordered all the butchers and fishmongers to be driven away and others to be opened in their place. So jewelers' shops appeared on the bridge, which were visited by a more sophisticated audience.

The second version says that the Vasari corridor served not only as a secret passage for rulers from one palace to another. Standing in a secret corridor directly above the shopping arcades, Ferdinando Medici, through special round windows in the corridor, could hear all the conversations of merchants and their customers. And these conversations were not always pleasant for the ruler’s ears. Ordinary people did not hesitate to discuss political topics and the personality of the ruler himself. Therefore, the Duke ordered to get rid of the commoners, and for double rent in 1593 goldsmiths settled here.

The third version is no less interesting, and it concerns the daughter of Ferdinando Medici. The young princess, walking along Vasari's corridor, became an involuntary listener to all the dialogues on the bridge. And since ordinary people, who did not mince words, traded and bought there, the vocabulary of the Medici daughter was greatly enriched - however, with words far from those that were accepted in the palaces. Hearing the merchants' vocabulary from his daughter, Ferdinando angrily drove out all the fish and meat merchants.

There is also a belief that The word “bankrupt” was born on the Ponte Vecchio bridge. If a merchant did not pay the rent on time and debts accumulated, the counter (banko) on which he traded was broken by the guards (rotto) sent by the authorities.

That is, literally the word “bankrupt” or “bankruptcy” means “a broken counter” (or a bankrupt bank). And if the counter was broken (“bankorotto”), then there was nothing to trade on.

The Arno River in the Ponte Vecchio area is also called a “golden mine”, and in the literal sense. The fact is that during the flood in 1966, the water rose several meters. Almost all the shops were flooded with water. Some of the traders who arrived here on calls from the night watchmen were able to save some of their goods. The remaining shops were flooded, and some of the gold jewelry was washed away by the receding water. Of course, work to find the missing jewelry continued in the waters of the Arno for many years, but without much results.

What is he like today?

There are currently 10 crossings across the Arno, and all of them have been rebuilt and restored (especially after the raids during World War II). Everything except the Golden Bridge. The appearance of Ponte Vecchio has remained virtually unchanged since its construction in 1345. A classic three-arch viaduct, the central arch is 30 meters long, and the two side arches are 27 meters long. The height of the vaults of Ponte Vecchio is from 3.5 to 4.4 meters.

Ponte Vecchio today is a row of jewelry stores and a small observation deck. From this site there is a wonderful view panoramic view on the Arno River. Looking at the muddy water of a calm and leisurely river, it is difficult to imagine that this river once posed a direct threat to the city. You can take photos from the observation deck. But if you walk from Piazza della Senoria along the Arno, you can take an equally gorgeous panoramic photo of the attraction itself - beautiful arches over the water.

The bridge looks especially beautiful in dark time day - illuminated by many lights, it becomes a meeting place and a landmark for tourists.

The stores offer a wide range of gold and platinum products.

True, tourists stop more to look than to buy - the prices for these products are quite high. For an inconspicuous-looking gold ring you need to pay at least 200 euros.

On the western side of the bridge is a bust of Benvenuto Cellini, Italian musician and sculptor of the Renaissance (the author of the bust is Raffaello Romanelli). One of the famous sculptural works of the master Cellini - the statue of Perseus with the severed head of Medusa the Gorgon - is located in Piazza della Signoria. The installation and opening of the statue in 1901 was timed to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Cellini.

Cellini's bust is surrounded by a small metal fence. This site has become a place of pilgrimage for newlyweds and couples in love– as a sign of the inviolability of love and family ties, each couple hung a padlock on the fence. Rumor has it that this idea belonged to the owner of a lock shop located not far from the installed bust. Either way, his business is booming. But the authorities of Florence did not like this custom - not only did the locks spoil the aesthetic appearance of the sculpture, but this tradition threatened the bridge itself, causing damage to it.

Each city has its own building, which is its symbol and is associated with the city. Along with Cathedral Florence, the old Renaissance bridge called Ponte Vecchio is the most bright place cities

The most famous bridge in Florence, as well as the oldest of the city's bridges. Ponte Vecchio- structure with three stone arches, built to replace the old one wooden bridge, which has crossed the Arno River at this location since Roman times. The upper side of the bridge, known as the Vasariano Corridor, was designed by the architect Vasari to link the Palazzo Vecchio and Uffizi Gallery with the Pitti Palace. Today there is a famous Art Gallery.

This bridge is built up and inhabited by people. Originally there were grocery stores here, but by the end of the 15th century Ponte Vecchio was favored by jewelers and silversmiths. In the middle of the bridge there is an open area from where you can watch the river and its banks

It is said that this is where the economic concept of bankruptcy came from: when a seller could no longer pay his debts, soldiers came and destroyed (rotto) his trading post (banco). This practice became known as “bancorotto” (broken table). Since the merchant no longer had a table, he was no longer able to sell anything.

During World War II, the Ponte Vecchio was not destroyed by the Germans during their retreat on August 4, 1944, unlike all other bridges in Florence. Hitler was given a special order to leave the bridge intact and unharmed. Access to it was, however, hampered by destroyed buildings on both sides of the river. Later, all the buildings were rebuilt, some of them original projects, and some are new

Along the Ponte Vecchio there have always been many padlocks attached to various places, especially on the railings around the statue of Benvenuto Chelini. This tradition appeared in Florence recently, although it has existed in Russia and Asia for a long time (for example, the bridge of love in Moscow). The owner of the lock shop at the end of the bridge contributed to this. Lovers hang up locks: closing the lock and throwing the key into the river, which symbolizes eternal love. This is a good example of the negative impact of mass tourism: thousands of locks were periodically removed, deteriorating or damaging the structure of the century-old bridge. Over time, they stopped doing this after the city government placed a sign on the bridge mentioning a fine of 50? for one lock of love. It turned out that those who want to seal their love are over 50? significantly less

Ponte Vecchio is the oldest bridge in Florence, Italy, a three-arch bridge that was built on the site of two previous bridges: a Roman era bridge, a bridge that collapsed in 1117, and a bridge that was demolished by a flood in 1333. Now Ponte Vecchio is a symbol of the city and perhaps this is its most striking place.

The Ponte Vecchio bridge was built in 1345 by the architect Neri di Fioravante, who designed and created a fairly strong structure, it was supposed to be much stronger than that of its predecessor, which failed in a flood in 1333. Although the design of the current bridge is quite strong, in 1966 Vecchio Bridge was severely damaged during the great flood of the Arno River.

The most striking feature that distinguishes the Vecchio Bridge from others is the houses located on both sides. In the center of the bridge spans, the row of buildings is interrupted and opens into an open area from which you can admire the river and other bridges in the city. In 1565, by order of Cosimo I de' Medici, the "Vasari Corridor" was built: the Uffizi Gallery and the Vasari Corridor - a covered passage running over the Ponte Vecchio bridge and connecting the Uffizi with the Pitti Palazzo, which was used exclusively by representatives of the court.

Along the corridor there are strange small round windows with bars; according to legend, they were created by order of the ruler in order to eavesdrop on what people were talking about below on the bridge. At that time, in the lower part of the bridge there were butchers' shops, but over time, unpleasant odors of spoiling products began to emanate from the market and in 1593 he categorically banned the trade in perishable products here, and in their place, jewelry stores and workshops appeared on the Ponte Vecchio. In this regard, it also began to be called the “Golden Bridge”.

Interesting fact, the word “bankrupt” comes from here. Once traded on the Ponte Vecchio bridge, a seller whose trade was so unprofitable that he could not pay for the place and got into debt, for this he was beaten by soldiers and his trading post (banco) was once smashed (rotto) and he could not do more trading. After this, the process of debt disputes of those times fit into the familiar word “bancorotto” or “broken table”: no table - no trade.

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