There has been a bridge here since Roman times; the present one dates from 1345. The shops were butchers and tanners until 1593, when the Medici — who had to walk over it — replaced them with goldsmiths. Goldsmiths are still what is there.
The covered passage running along the top is the Vasari Corridor, built in 1565 so the Grand Duke could get from Palazzo Vecchio to Palazzo Pitti without going out among the public.
It is at its worst in the middle of the day and genuinely lovely early in the morning, when the shutters are down and it is just a stone bridge.
⚠️ The best view of the Ponte Vecchio is from the next bridge up or down, not from on it.
Ponte Vecchio in pictures
