The Ponte Vecchio, the Old Bridge” over the river Arno. A medieval stone bridge dating from 996.
It was destroyed by floods in 1117 and again in 1333, and rebuit again in 1345. It has always hosted
shops and merchants, but the butchers, tanners and blacksmiths who were here originally were evicted
in 1593 because of the noise and stench they created. The workshops were rebuilt and let to the more
decorous goldsmiths, and the shops lining and overhanging the bridge are still occupied by jewelers.