2769 x 4159 px | 23,4 x 35,2 cm | 9,2 x 13,9 inches | 300dpi
Date de la prise de vue:
13 juillet 2010
Lieu:
Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Informations supplémentaires:
Cette image peut avoir des imperfections car il s’agit d’une image historique ou de reportage.
Florence, Tuscany, Italy: the north west side of the medieval Ponte Vecchio spanning the River Arno, at around noon in July. A bridge has stood on the site of the Ponte Vecchio probably since Roman times. It was rebuilt twice before 1300 and then transformed in 1345 into the first segmental arch bridge built in the west. With fewer piers than the Roman semi-circular-arch design, it offered less obstruction to boats. The transformation also saw shops created along the bridge's flanks. They were rented to artisans and merchants and subsequently sold to private owners. Because owners were not allowed to build on the pavement, the buildings were extended over the river, held up by wooden stakes or brackets. In the 1400s, the bridge was populated by a throng of grocers, butchers and fishmongers. Towards the end of the 1500s, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinando I, evicted these noisy and smelly traders and installed goldsmiths and silversmiths instead. The bridge is still home to many shops selling both new and antique jewellery. Across the top of the bridge runs the Vasari Corridor, built in 1564 by Giorgio Vasari to link the Pitti Palace, where the Grand Duke Francesco I de' Medici resided, with the Uffizi (or offices) where he worked. D0572.A6839
