The Ponte Vecchio is a medieval bridge that crosses the Arno River at its narrowest point in Florence, Italy. The bridge was originally occupied by butcher shops, but the present tennants are jewellers, art dealers, and souvenir sellers. The bridge has been described as Europe's oldest, wholly-stone, closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge. It is believed that a bridge was first built in Roman times when the Via Cassia crossed the river at this point. The bridge first appears in a document of 996. After being destroyed by a flood in 1117 it was reconstructed in stone but swept away again in 1333. It was rebuilt in 1345. The bridge was the only one of six spared by the retreating Germans on 4 August 1944 (Wikipedia). This picture was taken from the left downstream bank on 11 July 2007. Thank you for viewing and commenting on my uploads and a special 'Thank you' to those that may have added some of them to their favorites, Sig...