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Friday, May 9, 2014

Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Tuscany, Italy

A young woman poses for a portrait with the southeast side of the popular Ponte Vecchio in the background.  The Ponte Vecchio, in English, "Old Bridge," spans the Arno River in downtown Florence. A bridge has stood here for more than a thousand years, originally housing butchers (easy to throw the offal into the water), today housing jewelry, art, and souvenir vendors. 

This panorama view is from the north side of the river, the Ponte Vecchio is at left. (Panorama - click on it to view in full width).

Lots of tourists meandering around, taking photos, enjoying the view.

Looking west, the next bridge over the Arno River is the Ponte Santa Trinita.  The dome of San Frediano in Cestello is visible on the horizon.   This bridge is the oldest elliptical arch span bridge in the world. It was built by architect Bartolomeo Ammannati in the 1500's - you may recall from yesterday's blog post that he also sculpted the "Fountain of Neptune" which stands in the Piazza della Signoria with the "David" reproduction.


View to the northwest from  the Ponte Vecchio.

Tourists enjoy capturing a moment.

This view is from the south side of the river, the Ponte Vecchio is at right. (Panorama - click on it to view in full width).


2 comments:

  1. What a nice place. Italy is very lovely! I also noticed that even if the city seems crowded, it is well-kept. Perfect for travelers and looks great on photos too!

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    1. Thanks for your comment. Good observation - most everywhere I went was well-kept.

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