After leaving the Piazza, we headed further south past the Uffizi to the
River Arno to see the famous
Ponte Vecchio. The span, constructed in the 1100s, is one of the few bridges to maintain the once common practice of housing various stores and shops along the span.
Initially, the stores were full of butchers and other blue collar tenants, but the Medici family moved their estate the the area south of the bridge (the business area is north), and decided that it was not befitting their wealth to have such businesses. They removed the butchers and replaced them with jewelers who still make up the majority of tenants.
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Walkway approaching the bridge.
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| Vertigo! |
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| Wide view of the bridge, with close-ups below. |
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| I'm going to frame this. |
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| View through the windows of a jewelry shop. Not bad. |
All in all, a wonderful experience.
- B
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