Lamp detail on arches along Arno.

Until 1218, Ponte Vecchio was the only bridge across the Arno in Florence. The bridge has survived two floods and was the only bridge not destroyed by retreating Germans during World War II.

Beginning in the 13th century, a wide variety of shops occupied the bridge which included butchers, fishmongers and tanners. The waste from these industries caused an intense stench in the area. In 1593, Ferdinand I decreed that only goldsmiths and jewellers be allowed to have their shops on the bridge in order to alleviate the problem.