One of Italy’s best-known bridges that has survived Allied bombs, devastating floods and 700 years of visitors is set to be renovated.
With the Arno River flowing below, Florence’s Ponte Vecchio is a medieval crossing famous for its impressive arches and the shops (today occupied mostly by jewelers, art dealers and souvenir sellers) built on its top.
It was the only bridge in Florence to be saved from destruction during World War II and is built on the site of an even older Roman bridge.
Thousands of people walk over the 100-foot bridge every day, and the millions of tourists who flock to Florence regularly stop to take selfies.
It’s no surprise then that the ancient river crossing needs some tender loving care, which will take place without the city closing the bridge.
The Ponte Vecchio, one of Italy’s best-known bridges that has survived Allied bombs, devastating floods and 700 years of visitors, is ready for a makeover.
In a £2 million project starting this autumn and lasting until 2026, its arches, paving stones, parapets and side walls will be restored to their original grandeur.
Cracks in the Ponte Vecchio will be filled, moss and weeds removed, and the grout replaced, according to The Times.
Two Roman bridges at the same location, crossing the Arno at its narrowest point in Florence, were washed away by floods.
The structure as it is known today was completed in 1345, and its shops were initially occupied by butchers, tanners and farmers.
These merchants were dismissed in 1565 by Cosimo I de Medici, the grand duke of Tuscany at the time, in favor of jewelers and goldsmiths.
Along with the vaulted ceiling of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the bridge is one of Florence’s most famous icons, admired by writers and artists for hundreds of years.
DH Lawrence set his 1923 poem ‘Bat’ on the Ponte Vecchio, and Italian composer Giacomo Puccini featured the structure in his opera Gianni Schicchi.
Composed between 1917 and 1918, in this comic opera the damsel Lauretta threatens to jump from the crossing into the Arno River.
In a £2 million project starting this autumn and lasting until 2026, the arches, paving stones, parapets and side walls of the Ponte Vecchio will be restored to their original grandeur.
Pictured: A colorized image of the damage around the Ponte Vecchio bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy, during World War II.
Damaged shops on Florence’s Ponte Vecchio after the Arno River overflowed in 1966
During World War II, the Ponte Vecchio was the only one of Florence’s bridges that was not blown up by the Nazis and was saved from Allied bombs. Hitler is believed to have demanded that the architectural icon be preserved, according to some historians.
It also survived the Arno flood in 1966, although it was severely damaged.
The planned completion date of 2026 will mark 60 years since the floods.
The renovation of the bridge will be carried out without the need to close it, allowing merchants to continue their work and tourists to flow, Florence Mayor Dario Nardella told the Times on Friday.
Much of the work will be carried out from a pontoon located below the Ponte Vecchio during the spring and summer, when the waters of the Arno are calmer.
The works will be partly financed by the city council, and the aristocratic Florentine wine family Marchesi Antinori will also agree to sponsor the renovation.
“Our family history has always been inextricably linked to Florence since the 13th century,” Piero Antinori, honorary president of Marchesi Antinori, told The Florentine.
“The city has given us a lot over the centuries, so it is a pleasure for us to be part of this important project.”
Much of the work will be carried out from a pontoon located under the Ponte Vecchio during the spring and summer, when the waters of the Arno are calmer.
“For the first time in its long history, the Ponte Vecchio will be the subject of a complex restoration operation,” added Mayor Nardella.
“The bridge does not have stability problems (it is safe and anchored), but it does have the usual problems related to being outdoors, open to the elements and to the ebbs and flows of the river,” he explained.
‘This is a historic project because the Ponte Vecchio has never been the subject of a restoration with this level of technical complexity.
“When it is finished, we will have an even more beautiful bridge than before.”