The Ponte Vecchio

Benvenuto!

This month we want to walk you across one of Florence and Tuscany's best-loved momuments, the dazzling Ponte Vecchio (the 'Old Bridge'). The bridge crosses the Arno river from the historical city centre of Florence to the Oltrarno area (which means literally, 'across the Arno'!). It is also home to some of the town's best jewellery stores, making it a must-see when you visit!

If you like to cook or just love food, we support a cooking class close to Florence due to the great quality, friendliness of the chefs and the incredible response we have had from the people who have attended the classes.

The cooking class is called “Good Tastes of Tuscany“ and the classes are held in the magnificent kitchen of a 14th century castle . The classes involve hands on fresh pasta making , the tricks to the tuscan cooking techniques and a vast menu even for the basic classes from antipasto to desert.

You'll cook together with the Chef and you'll eat what you prepared all together following the class. A full meal is served so you can relax and savour your efforts making new friends , having a laugh over a glass of wine and experiencing the tuscan lifestyle of times gone by.

The classes are run by 2 italian english speaking chefs.
One of the chefs learnt by the most important teachers ; her family. The traditional Italian housewife that takes care of the house was the center of everything in a home and also for entertaining. The chef was taught by her grandmother and mother the skill of true Tuscan cooking and later through many courses and a catering business.

The other chef began as a restaurant owner in Florence and then expanded his knowledge through the most noted italian courses for professionals . They also have a indepth knowledge on the history of Tuscan cuisine, the variety of dishes from each area and seasons.

They are both warm, passionate and friendly people and very eager to please , when I have commented to them about the satisfaction of the attendees they responed “ we just love people and what we do so much that this obviously transmits to the clients”.

You can obtain information about the classes and also costs from the website: www.tuscany-cooking-class.com

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The Ponte Vecchio has a rich history. It crosses at the narrowest point of the Arno river, but the bridge that we know and love today is actually not the original that was built. The first few were destroyed in various floods throughout history, the earliest known to have been a wooden structure built by the Romans around 1080. Next in place, in the late 1100's, was a stone arched version that was damaged and then subsequently destroyed by floods, with the final destruction occurring in Florence's worst flood in history of 1333.

Famed architect Vasari was commissioned by Cosimo I to reconstruct a new bridge, requesting that there also be a corridor running across the bridge. Still in place today, the Medici King's passageway allowed the King to get from his home at the Pitti Palace to the Palazzo Vecchio ('Old Palace'), which served as the parliament office, going via the Uffizi Gallery, which was originally offices ('uffizi') for officials.

Legend has it that the Vasari corridor allowed the King to pass by without causing a fuss amongst the adoring locals. But the truth may be that it also allowed protection from those who wished to express their discontent via fruit throwing at the King during times of local difficulty!

Another popular Ponte Vecchio story recounts how during the war, the rest of the bridges along the Arno river were bombed in an attempt to block tanks from being able to place weaponry on the bridges to shoot overhead planes, and also to block entrance/exit into the historical centre.

However, the Ponte Vecchio was not destroyed, as it was believed that the covering of the bridge by the King's passageway would mean it was not possible to utilise it in an attack. But it was proven to be possible to use the bridge to fire from, and it was this that allowed Florentines to win against the Germans.

The truth is that Hitler and Mussolini visited the bridge when the Nazi's were seeking allies. Three windows were put into the overhead passageway for the occasion. But once this deal turned sour and the Germans attacked the town, it was the German liaison officer who ensured the bridge's safety in the 1944 bombing as a sign of respect of its history.

In 1966, Florence was again flooded when the Arno overflowed after a solid month of rain. When waters subsided, the locals rushed to the riverbanks to see the state of their beloved bridge. Pine trees had pierced through the central archways, but other than some water damage, the bridge itself remained intact.

The bridge itself is comprised of a central walkway, which runs between shops that line both sides of the bridge. In the centre there is an opening on both sides that affords a spectacular view of the river bank and the buildings that run along it.

In the past, the stores on the bridge were used by local butchers. Offcuts were thrown into the river for convenient disposal, and to avoid having their unsightly work occur within the actual city centre. When more space was required, an additional room was just tacked onto the outside of bridge in any way possible, accounting for the somewhat disorganised structures jutting out here and there.

Once it was decided that it was not acceptable to have the odours from the meat works rising up into the King's passageway, the butchers were asked to leave in the late 1500s, and in their place arrived jewellers and a few other artisans who set up shop on the bridge.

A bust of famed Florence jeweller, Benvenuto Cellini, takes pride of place at the centre of the bridge.

Nowadays, the bridge is predominantly lined with gold and jewellery stores. Walking along the bridge, people stop to gaze at the many traditional jewellery items that Florence is famed for.

Florentines are renowned for being immaculately dressed and jewelled. Owing to Florence's long history of producing some of the world's best art and artisan items, jewellery has become one of the historical town's best-loved productions along with leather work and fashion.

Italy by law only sells 18k gold. That means it is made of 75% gold, and 25% solidifies (since pure gold is too soft to create lasting, intricate pieces). The gold is also nickel free.

Florence is particularly noted for the specialised artisan work involved in producing some of the world's finest pieces. Some things to look out for include rings, earrings, pendants and bracelets studded with multi-coloured semi-precious stones, known as mosaic jewellery. There are also brooches and other items featuring images made from inlaid stones.

Charms, earrings, pendants and other items featuring the Giglio, the lily symbol of Florence (not to be confused with the French fleur-de-lys) are other great souvenirs.

Cameos were traditionally made as a joint venture between Naples, where the image was carved from shell, and then sent up to Florence to be set into the gold.

Also keep an eye out for diamond-cut jewellery, where the gold is cut into facets like diamonds to make the pieces sparkle in the light.

Combinations of white and yellow gold are also fantastic. There are reversible necklaces that sit flat on the neck, yellow gold on one side and white gold on the other.

Once you cross the bridge, the road leads directly to the Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens.

Taking a left-hand turn rather will take you to some fabulous coffee stores and restaurants, and if you keep going, you will arrive to the point where you can walk up to Piazzale Michelangelo for the best views of Florence, and a bird's eye view of the Ponte Vecchio too!

Italians are famous for their erratic driving. Tuscany is certainly not as bad as the south of Italy, but drivers here also not as precise as they tend to be in the north. The Italian prime minister once quipped that when it comes to traffic signals, green means go, orange means go faster and red? Well, that's just a suggestion.

It doesn't seem to be so much as which lane you are in (if you are actually in only one lane and not both at once!) but if you are in front or not. Italians also don't check too precisely before changing lanes (they're too busy talking on the phone for that!) the street signs aren't so precise, the roads can change without any notice, making havoc for GPS systems, the parking rules are near impossible to decipher, there are restricted driving areas you must have a permit to enter (like the centre of Florence) and overall, we'd be happy to arrange a safe and secure professional private driver to calmly navigate the roads for you at any time!

But Overall?

So Italians may push in, they probably wont stop at crossings and their driving can be interesting. But Tuscans generally are welcoming, friendly, social, warm and lovely people who love to talk, whose smiles show their genuineness in their eyes. They can make you feel like Tuscany is your second home, and for many of our guests and friends, that certainly has become the case!