The Ponte Vecchio bridge is the oldest and most famous, bridge in Florence, and the only bridge across the Arno River in Florence that survived World War ll. The sight of it is absolutely breathtaking and (in my mind) fulfills every image of that classic Italian moment where history meets present-day.

Back during the Medici rule, the Ponte Vecchio was where are the butcher-shops were located – and as you can probably imagine, it was…pretty gross. The stench was horrible and the river was tainted from all the animal waste being dumped in the river. Yuck.

Sick of the smell and also interested in making Florence wealthier, Ferdinand Medici passed a law in the late 16th century that all the shops on the Ponte Vecchio bridge must be gold or jewelry shops – and that is still true to this day. Knowing the history behind it makes it all the more interesting to walk along and view the incredible craftsmanship of these goldsmiths and jewelers. There’s also a secret tunnel running above the Ponte Vecchio called the ‘Vasari Corridor’ that was used by the Medici family back in the day to travel – if you look closely, you can see part of the tunnel popping out around the stone tower.

On another note – as I mentioned above, the Ponte Vecchio bridge is the only bridge in Florence that survived World War ll. As the Nazis were retreating out of Florence, they destroyed every other bridge except the Ponte Vecchio. There’s a rumor that Hitler saw the bridge and thought it was too beautiful to destroy, but that’s not true – in fact, the saving of the bridge comes down to one person, a Nazi official named Gerhard Wolf.