Northumbrian Gunner: Florence

Tuesday, 21 November 2023

Florence - Ponte Vecchio

The Ponte Vecchio "Old bridge" is a medieval stone bridge over the River Arno, crossing the river at at it's narrowest point as it flows through Florence.

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 bridge is 84 metres in length and consists of a main arch with a span of 30 meters and two side arches each with a span 27 meters .

Ponte Vecchio

The first bridge is understood to have been constructed in Roman times to allow the via Cassia, the route from Rome to the North to cross the River Arno. The current bridge dates from 1345. There have been shops on the Ponte Vecchio since it was established.

Ponte Vecchio

In 1565 Cosimo I de' Medici had the Vasari Corridor, part of which runs above the Ponte Vecchio, to connect the Palazzo Vecchio with the Palazzo Pitti on the other side of the river.

Ponte Vecchio Vasari Corridor

Vasari Corridor

he shops on the Ponte Vecchi included butchers and fishmongers and tanners. Their "industrial waste" caused an unpleasant stench. To improve the environment on the bridge it was decreed that only goldsmiths and jewellers would be allowed to trade there, a requirement that continues today.

Ponte Vecchio Shops Vasari Corridor

Ponte Vecchio Shops

In 1900 a bronze bust of Florentine sculptor and master goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini was unveiled to stand atop a fountain in the middle of the Eastern side of the bridge.

Ponte Vecchio Benvenuto Cellini

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Ponte Vecchio VM

Ponte Vecchio VM IJ

Ponte Vecchio VM

Ponte Vecchio IJ

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World War Two

In May 1939 Italy had signed a pact with Germany. On June 10 1940 Benito Mussolini proclaimed Italy's entry into the war, the citizens of Florence gathered in Piazza della Signoria in support of the Duce's decision.

Piazza della Signoria 10th June 1940

The Italians conducted unsuccessful campaigns in the Middle East and Greece necessitating the deployment of German forces to those theatres to prevent defeat. The German and Italians were defeated in the Middle East in 1942, and in July 1943 Allied troops invaded Sicily, the start of the Italian campaign. On 3rd September the invasion of the Italian mainland commenced leading to the surrender of Italy on 8th September. In response German troops occupied Italy, including Florence and prepared defensive lines to block the Allied Advance.

By late July 1944 the British 8th Army had fought their way north and New Zealand troops had dislodged German forces from the Pian dei Cerri hills overlooking the city. The Germans retreated and declared Florence to be an undefended "open city" to prevent shelling and bombing. They did however destroy Florence's bridges over the River Arno with the exception of the Ponte Vecchio.

Whilst the Ponte Vecchio was left intact, access to the bridge was denied by demolishing buildings at either end.

Ponte Vecchio damaged buildings 1944

The Ponte Vecchio was saved from destruction by the German consul in Florence Gerhard Wolf. Wolf had the position from 1940 and was far from being a Nazi. He also saved many Jews from the Holocaust after German occupation in 1943, and prevented artworks from being plundered to Germany. A memorial plaque to Gerhard Wolf can be found on the Ponte Vecchio.

Ponte Vecchio Gerhard Wolf Memorial plaque

Florence was liberated by New Zealand, South African and British troops from the 8th Army and partisans from the Tuscan Committee of National Liberation (CTLN) on 4 August 1944. The obstructions of the Ponte Vecchio were cleared and the bridges over the River Arno were rebuilt after the war.