Best known of all Florence's treasures, this glorious bridge was the only one of six spared by the retreating Germans on 4 August 1944. Over the centuries flooding unfortunately took its toll; few traces of the 10th-century bridge remain. Today's bridge, built in 1345, was filled with butcher's shops which would routinely discard the carcasses into the Arno causing quite a stench. Grand Duke Fernandino I issued an edict to replace the butchers with goldsmiths to eradicate the smell and gentrify royalty's route to Palazzo Pitti, reached via the Vasari Corridor that passes over the bridge. Also, do not padlock anything to the statue of Benvenuto Cellini, often practiced by lovers who padlock a lock to the gate of the statue and toss the key into the river - otherwise face a fine of EUR 50!
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Fun for the family, be prepared for sticker shock!
There is so much history and atmosphere there, you can't help but find it appealing. We window shopped a lot, got some souveniers, gelato, the...
Beautiful but crowded
The ponte vecchio is absolutely beautiful and the history is really cool but you definitely aren't the only one who knows this. Since I know th...
Commercial
Yes this is a beautiful historical bridge but for us, all the jewelry rather spoils it. Dont miss one of the most beautiful, peaceful spots in ...
very beutiful bridge
i like jewelers of gold! the sight is very beutiful i na the sunset and best place to visit is at morning! i can say that the river is very beu...
Simply Amazing!
This is one of the main attractions in Florence, so don't miss it!! It's just fun to walk around, even though you can't afford most of the thin...
Breathtaking
We were blown away by the beauty of this city. We're in our 50's and finally made it to Italy. We walked all over. Boboli gardens were vast ...
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