the Ponte Vecchio, jewel of Florence

In Florence (Italy), all the streets converge on a bridge. Millions of people walk there every year and take their picture. The Ponte Vecchio was completed in 1345 and miraculously passed down to us as it is. “People who come from all over the world, with a different culture, meet here on the bridge. And with all these jewelry stores, it’s something magical”said a tourist.

Today, the bridge brings together 50 jewelry stores. But in the Middle Ages, these shops were mainly butchers, and the atmosphere was very different. In the 16th century, the Medici had the river cleaned up, and they demanded that the bridge be dedicated to goldsmiths. 500 years later, the tradition lives on. There are still six inhabited built bridges in Europe, compared to thousands in the Middle Ages. They are all classified as world heritage, but that of Florence is by far the best known.