Ponte Vecchio

The bridge of the goldsmiths

The Ponte Vecchio ("old bridge") is Florence's oldest and most famous bridge, and the only one to survive the Second World War. It crosses the Arno at its narrowest point in the city centre, linking the Centro Storico with the Oltrarno. What makes it unmistakable are the small shops that jut out over the water on brackets on both sides of the roadway, seeming to hover above the Arno.

Unlike most of the city's sights, the bridge costs nothing and is open to the public around the clock. It sits directly on the route between the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti, so anyone walking through the centre is almost bound to pass over it.

History: from floods to the goldsmiths' bridge

There has been a river crossing on this spot since antiquity. The current structure dates from 1345, a rebuild after the floods of 1117 and 1333 destroyed its predecessors. The design is traditionally credited to Taddeo Gaddi, though more recent scholarship also points to Neri di Fioravanti.

Structurally, the bridge is remarkable for its era: it rests on three flat segmental arches, the central span around 30 metres wide, with the two side arches each roughly 27 metres. This low, flattened profile was unusual for the 14th century.

The shops have always been part of the bridge, but their trades have changed over time:

• At first the bridge housed butchers and tanners, who tipped their waste straight into the Arno below.
• In 1565 the butchers were banished by decree, partly because the Vasari Corridor was built over the bridge that same year, and the smell was rather too close to the Medici for comfort.
• In 1593 Grand Duke Ferdinando I de' Medici assigned the shops permanently to gold- and silversmiths and jewellers. That designation still holds today.

The shops today

Around 40 small shops line the bridge, mostly jewellers, goldsmiths, watchmakers and souvenir sellers. Their shopfronts, with wooden shutters that close each evening like chests, are part of the classic Florence view. Among the oldest and best known is Fratelli Piccini, founded in 1903.

These are not tourist-trap souvenir shops in the usual sense but, in several cases, long-standing workshops, with prices to match. The bridge suits window-shoppers just as well as anyone specifically hunting for Florentine goldsmith's craft.

The Vasari Corridor

Running above the shops is the Vasari Corridor (Corridoio Vasariano), which Giorgio Vasari built in just a few months in 1565 for Cosimo I de' Medici. The covered passageway, roughly 750 metres long, links the Palazzo Vecchio with the Palazzo Pitti, running via the Uffizi and across the Ponte Vecchio, allowing the Medici to move between their seat of government and their residence without mixing with the public.

After a lengthy restoration, the corridor has reopened. Worth knowing before you go:

• The visit is a self-guided route, there is no guided tour, and staff accompany visitors purely for safety. Booking is compulsory.
• The route starts in Room D19 on the first floor of the Uffizi Gallery, crosses the Ponte Vecchio and ends at the Ammannati Courtyard in the Palazzo Pitti, passing through a section of the Boboli Gardens. It takes about 45 minutes.
• It is open Tuesday to Sunday, closed Mondays; the first group sets off at 10:15, and the last leaves the corridor at 16:35. According to the Uffizi, there is no seasonal variation in these hours.
• Visitors with reduced mobility can use the corridor with their own wheelchair or walker; wheelchairs over 230 kg (including the user) or longer than 120 cm are not permitted.

Access is only via a combined Uffizi ticket: €43 on the day, €47 booked in advance; the corridor-only supplement is €20. Tickets are available through the official Uffizi ticket shop. If you want to see the corridor, it's best planned together with a visit to the Uffizi.

Visiting: the practical side

20 to 40 minutes is enough for the bridge itself, strolling across, browsing the shopfronts and taking in the view over the Arno from the middle. It's at its best in the soft light of sunrise or sunset; during the day it gets narrow and crowded, and in any case the best view of the bridge itself is from the neighbouring bridges, above all from the Ponte Santa Trinita.

One practical note: the crush of people on the Ponte Vecchio makes it a pickpocket hotspot. In the crowds, it's worth keeping valuables close and in sight.

The bridge sits neatly in the middle of the centre and links easily into a longer walk:

• To the north, just a few steps away, are the Piazza della Signoria and the Uffizi Gallery.
• To the south, across the bridge into the Oltrarno, are the Palazzo Pitti, the Boboli Gardens and the quieter Bardini Garden.
• If you're planning the Vasari Corridor, the Booking tickets guide explains how Uffizi bookings work.

For where the Ponte Vecchio fits into a Florence visit, see the overview Attractions in Florence; for getting around the centre, see the Getting there guide.