Old Bridge

Florence
Winter 2011

Set against the backdrop of a medieval bridge - Ponte Vecchio in Florence
(Feb-2011)

Journal Entry... There's this one image of a bridge I've come to know about growing up that had somehow fixated me to it. That winter morning, in 2011, I woke up to it so close I could almost touch the bridge from the apartment window.

Apartment with a view

3-feb: Arrived Florence... #Trenitalia to Florence, from Rome, in an hour's time... Stop. Santa Maria Novella train station. Taxi ride. Check-in: #SanSebSuites in Lungarno. Apartment overlooked the Ponte Vecchio. The old medieval bridge would leave me in a state of wonderment every time I looked out the window to stare at the bridge, first thing in the morning and on evening turn down. 

Window to Ponte Vecchio

Ponte Vecchio is only one of Florence's many bridges crossing the Arno river to connect the north and south banks. But, hands down, it is the character bridge of them all. 
Unmindful of a usual crowd that converged daily in the bridge, Ponte Vecchio calmly stood, day in and day out, to the mesmerizing landscape on the river banks, and as night falls, to the reflection of romantic city lights.

Ponte Vecchio leading Florence's many bridges

Two Peas in Florence

A row of shop houses, in striking colors, jutted out precariously on both sides of the bridge, relying on the beams attached to the bridge for support. A Vasari corridor, intended for the safe passage of the Duke and his family between Palazzo Vecchio in the north bank and the Palazzo Pitti in the south bank, runs along the shop houses. Shop houses now sell (just) jewelry. Trivia: The Ponte Vecchio had been for the longest time the territory of meat butchers selling meat, until the foul odor had become intolerable to the Duke's sense of smell, as well as unfashionable for his Duchess walking in the secret corridor right above it.

Jewelry shops flank both sides of the bridge, with the Vasari corridor on top

Sunrise on the east of Ponte Vecchio

During the last world war, Ponte Vecchio was at the brink of being blown up to pieces by enemy forces. Only, the commanding officers had a change of heart sparing the bridge. So, the original bridge stands proud to this very day in Florence. I still remain attached to the bridge clear in my memory long after seeing Ponte Vecchio, and there is no need explaining why.

4-feb: Around Florence... Renaissance Florence... Link to>>> Journal Entry: Renaissance Florence #italy #florence #winter2011 and Florentine delights... Link to>>> Journal Entry: Florentine Delights #italy #florence #winter2011

6-feb: Day trip to Pisa... Link to>>> Journal Entry: Lean on Me #italy #pisa #autumn2011

8-feb: Day trip to Siena... Link to>>> Journal Entry: The Color of Burnt Sienna #italy #siena #autumn2011

11-feb: Arrived Venice... Link to>>> Journal Entry: Carnevale di Venezia #italy #venice #winter2011

oOo
PHOTOSTITCH

#Italy #Florence #autumn2011

Trenitalia Rome to Florence...

Check-in: Lungarno apartment...

Photo-op with Martina, the apartment owner...