Random Thoughts

Before my sister and I went back to our hotel, we walked around the square, until we came across the oldest bridge in Florence - the Ponte Vecchio.

Open all of the time, along the pedestrian zone south of Piazza della Repubblica towards Palazzo Pitti. SOURCE.

When the Medici moved from Palazzo Vecchio to Palazzo Pitti, they decided they needed a connecting route from the Uffizi to the Palazzo Pitti on the other side of the Arno that would enable them to keep out of contact with the people they ruled. The result was the Corridoio Vasariano, built in 1565 by Vasari and which runs above the little goldsmiths' shops on the Ponte Vecchio.

There have been stores on the Ponte Vecchio since the 13th century. Initially, there were all types of shops, including butchers and fishmongers and later tanners, whose industrial waste caused a pretty rank stench. In 1593, Ferdinand I decreed that only goldsmiths and jewellers be allowed to have their stores on the bridge. Cellini, a 16th century goldsmith, is honoured with a bust on the bridge. By night, the wooden shutters of the shops make them look like suitcases and wooden chests, making it a very suggestive route to take along an evening passeggiata, or stroll. SOURCE.

Aaah, beautiful place, very beautiful bridge. And look what we came across...


A guitarist who was playing for the people around the area. He was good!