The Ponte Vecchio is probably the most famous bridge in Florence, as it's one of the few bridges in Europe with shopping built right on the bridge. Originally the shops were meat markets because they could just dump their refuse below the shop, but now all the shops are jewelers - the Medicis created a walkway above the shops so they could walk without mingling with the general populace from the Palazzo Pitti to the Palazzo Vechio and Uffici, and the smell of the meat slaughters was too much in the summer, so they ordered the change one night.
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A
view west down the Arno from the north end of the Ponte Vecchio |
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A
skuling team practicing on the Arno near the Ponte Vecchio |
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The
view across the Ponte Vecchio - the dome of the Duomo is in the
background |
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The
statue on the Ponte Vecchio |
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