Wednesday, November 28, 2012

FAST FACTS



Panorama of Ponte Vecchio
Photo from Wiki Commons

• The Ponte Vecchio is a Medieval bridge that spans the Arno River in Florence, Italy


• Giorgio Vasari claimed that Taddeo Gaddi was the architect of the bridge

• It was first constructed in the Roman Era, and first documented around 960CE.

• It has been destroyed twice by floods: first in 1117CE, then in 1333CE. Today the architecture remains intact from 1345.
• The Ponte Vecchio is a segmental stone arch bridge, consisting of three segmental arches
• The longest arch spans 30 meters, and the two shorter arches span 27 meters
• The Ponte Vecchio serves many practical purposes: a way to cross the Arno River, and it is home to many jewelry shops
• Traditionally, the Ponte Vecchio has always been home to shops and merchants. It used to have butchers and meat shops, but then transitioned to jewelers.
• The Ponte Vecchio is the only bridge in Florence to survive the bombing that occurred during WWII.


Post by Georgia Button and Kate Logue.

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