The Old Bridge

Ponte Vecchio, the oldest of Florence's six bridges, is one of the city's best known images. Probably going back to Roman times with its stone pillars and wooden planks; it was built in stone but then newly destroyed by a flood in 1333. It was built again twelve years later, perhaps by Neri da Fioravante (or Taddeo Gaddi, according to Giorgio Vasari).
The five arches became three and the main part was widened. The shops, housed under the porticos, first belonged to the Commune which then rented them out. But later on, towards the 15th century, they were sold to private owners and began to change through subsequent additions, raised parts and external terraces, extending towards the river and altering the original architecture in an anarchical, suggestive way.
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The Ponte Vecchio, Florence,

We liked the Ponte Vecchio best from the next bridge down. The Arno is still a beautiful river but the tourists are maddening (obviously we didnlt include ourselves in this :) ) and the shops are depressingly expensive - well probably not if you can afford the wonderful jewelry but even my doting husband rebelled at the price tags on display! The highlight of Florence for us was the Bargello Museum and I got some great shots of the Duomo as well, but they are for another day.