Friday, July 6, 2007

The Ponte Vecchio






The Ponte Vecchio, means the old bridge, and it surely is. Although it existed previously and was made of wood, the current bridge was built it 1345, and is the only bridge in Florence that was not destroyed during World War II allegedly by an express order of Hitler because he thought that the bridge was beautiful (wasn’t that "big" of him?)


Originally, the bridge housed vegetable, fish and meat merchants, but in 1565, Cosimo di Medici ordered that they not be housed there because of the smell, and gold merchants moved in immediately and have occupied the space ever since.


I personally have 57 photos of the Ponte Vecchio, and I can’t say that any of them really capture the beauty of it. Not only is it beautiful because of the character, age, color, and architecture, but the jewelry shops are like large jewelry boxes. They have wooden coverings that come over them at night, which are also beautiful.


I have to stay away from the Ponte Vecchio during the day when the jewelry stores are open. The jewelry there is hand made, 18k italian gold, and unbelievably beautiful. It is a beautiful romantic place at night, and in my mind it is one of the "wonders of the world".

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