26 Sept - Ponte Vecchio

The "Old Bridge" is the last remaining vestige of its kind as all the other medieval bridges spanning the Arno were blown to bits in WWII. It used to house butchers, grocers, blacksmiths and the like until the late 16th C when Grand Duke Ferdinand I - of the mighty Medici line - found contemptable that his private passageway across the river ran atop such a plebeian collection of shops. He decreed that all the commoners be shown the door and the only trades permitted ever since have been goldsmiths and jewellers. That's one way of cleaning up the neighbourhood!