The most smelly bridge of the Middle Ages today has turned into the most pretentious landmark of Florence. Such metamorphosis, it must be said, happens infrequently, so it's necessary to cope with the mass of tourists and Africans who are selling all here in a row - alas, it is necessary. Although the best view of the Ponte Vecchio, of course, opens from afar, from the waterfront, or from the square of Michelangelo.
The paragraph of history
The fate of the place, whose aromas did not arouse the appetite, was at Ponte Vecchio not immediately . Initially this oldest bridge in Florence performed the most common function - the crossing over the full river Arno . The time of the ancient Romans who had fallen asleep, though in a wooden form, it repeatedly collapsed from strong currents and rains, rebuilt and so on in a circle not one dozen times . And only in the 15th century, when the authorities of Florence decided Whether to move here away from the houses of nobility and administrative palaces of the butchers shop, he has gained fame of a place that smells bad . It's no wonder: refrigerators at that time did not know, and in the Italian heat, steamed veal and chicken brains spoiled quickly, and the waste left by the animals . All this stuff was thrown off to Arnaud so that the river's waters carried them as far as possible out of the city . From the fragrances it saved not much .
Because butchers in Florence were a dime a dozen, and the bridge is not so extended, the shopkeeper had to sharpen and build their shops in breadth:. they stick out today, protrude above the bridge and hang over the water as much as several meters. (We almost watched such a picture in the movie "Perfume".) When exactly the butcher shops were replaced by rich jewelry stores is not known exactly, but the fact that today it is not here to buy a ring is cheaper than EUR so 200 is a fact.
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What to see
Perhaps its meat business for the jewelry Ponte Vecchio changed at a time when the Vasari Corridor, named after the architect who created it, was built over the bridge structures. The function at the corridor was simple: that the duke Cosimo I could walk slowly from Palazzo Vecchio to Pitti Palace
Corridor Vasari
Today this corridor is considered one of the best art galleries in the world, where about 700 original paintings of 16-17 centuries are stored: the masters from Rome and Naples, as well as a collection of self-portraits of famous artists of Italy and the world. In particular: self-portraits of Raphael, Vasari, Rubens, Velasquez, Kustodiev, Kiprensky
Visit The Vasari Corridor is only possible during a group excursion, having pre-booked it in the Uffizi or in one of the city's travel agencies. The groups are small, the guide is in English, the cost is around 80-100 EUR. A walk begins on the second floor of the Uffizi Gallery, ends in the Boboli Gardens. Photographing is strictly prohibited, for the lecherous hands that want to touch everything, can generally be expelled from the holy of holies - supervision in this place is very serious.