The Ponte Vecchio is the Florence bridge across the Arno lined with shops and traditionally dated to 1345.
The present stone bridge replaced earlier crossings destroyed by floods. Its unusual structure contains shops along both sides and a covered passage above them, the Vasari Corridor, which links the Palazzo Vecchio with the Pitti Palace.
The bridge originally hosted butchers and other food sellers. In the sixteenth century, Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici moved prestigious trades such as goldsmiths and jewellers onto the bridge. The Ponte Vecchio survived the German retreat from Florence in 1944, although nearby approaches were damaged.