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Florence’s Ponte Vecchio is about to undergo its biggest restoration in sixty years, with the city icon prepared for £1.7m of works to protect the landmark
Tom Anstey | Planet Attractions | 29 Apr 2024
The Ponte Vecchio is an iconic Florence site Credit: Jeff Ackley on Unsplash
Florence’s Ponte Vecchio, one of the Italian city’s most famous sites, is about to undergo some major works to protect the landmark.
Dating back as far as the Roman era, the Ponte Vecchio is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge that originally housed medieval shops. Surviving bombing in World War Two, its appearance has proved very popular with tourists, who visit the destination en masse.
In order to preserve the heritage structure, £1.7m (US$2.1m, €1.9m) of works have been announced - the most comprehensive to be carried out on the bridge in over sixty years.
Along with restorations to the bridge’s arches, the wing walls, paving stones and parapets, cracks in the bridge will be filled in, grout will be replaced and weeds and moss will be removed. The footpath’s stone will also be repaired.
The majority of the work will be carried out from a pontoon placed below the bridge during the spring and summer months, when the waters of the Arno River are calmer. The work is expected to take around two years.
The work will be partly funded by the city's council, with winemaker Marchesi Antinori also sponsoring the work.
“We are leaving an enormous legacy,” said Dario Nardella, the city’s mayor.
“This is a historic project because the Ponte Vecchio has never undergone a restoration with this level of technical complexity.
“When it's finished, we will have an even more beautiful bridge than before.”
Heritage
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