![]() ![]() It was swept away again in 1333 except for two of its central piers, as noted by Giovanni Villani in his Nuova Cronica. ![]() In 1218 the Ponte alla Carraia, a wooden structure, was established nearby which led to it being referred to as "Ponte Nuovo" relative to the older (Vecchio) structure. The bridge first appears in a document of 996 and was destroyed by a flood in 1117 and reconstructed in stone. The Roman piers were of stone, the superstructure of wood. ![]() The bridge spans the Arno at its narrowest point where it is believed that a bridge was first built in Roman times, when the via Cassia crossed the river at this point. The bridge appears in the list drawn up in 1901 by the General Directorate of Antiquities and Fine Arts, as a monumental building to be considered national artistic heritage. In contemporary times, despite being closed to vehicular traffic, the bridge is crossed by a considerable pedestrian flow generated both by the notoriety of the place itself and by the fact that it connects places of high tourist interest on the two banks of the river: piazza del Duomo, piazza della Signoria on one side with the area of Palazzo Pitti and Santo Spirito in the Oltrarno. Beyond the historical value, the bridge over time has played a central role in the city road system, starting from when it connected the Roman Florentia with the Via Cassia Nuova commissioned by the emperor Hadrian in 123 AD. The name was given to what was the oldest Florentine bridge when the bridge to the Carraia was built, then called "Ponte Nuovo" in contrast to the pons Vetus. The bridge connects via Por Santa Maria (Lungarno degli Acciaiuoli and Lungarno degli Archibusieri) to via de 'Guicciardini (Borgo San Jacopo and via de' Bardi). The Ponte Vecchio's two neighbouring bridges are the Ponte Santa Trinita and the Ponte alle Grazie. Butchers, tanners, and farmers initially occupied the shops the present tenants are jewellers, art dealers, and souvenir sellers. The only bridge in Florence spared from destruction during the Second World War, it is noted for the shops built along it building shops on such bridges was once a common practice. The Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge", Italian pronunciation: ) is a medieval stone closed- spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy. ![]()
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