Ponte Vecchio. Architecture, Politics, and Civic Identity in Late Medieval Florence

Summary Famous today for the shops lining its sloped street, the Ponte Vecchio is the last premodern bridge spanning the Arno River at Florence and one of the few remaining examples of the once more prevalent urbanized bridge type. Drawing from early Florentine chronicles and previously unpublished archival documents, this book traces the history of the Ponte Vecchio, focusing on the current bridge's construction after the flood of 1333. Much of the Ponte Vecchio's original fourteenth-century appearance is now obscured beneath later accretions, often mistakenly interpreted as original to its medieval character. To the contrary, as argued in this book and illustrated by new reconstruction drawings, the mid-trecento Ponte Vecchio's vaulted substructure was technically advanced, its urban superstructure was designed in accordance with contemporary Florentine urban planning strategies, and its "beautiful and honorable" appearance was maintained by government regulations. The documents also reveal new information about the commission and rental of its famous shops. Relying on these sources, this study offers a more complete history of the Ponte Vecchio, adding significantly to what is currently known about the bridge's patronage and construction, as well as the aims of civic architecture and urban planning in late medieval Florence. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations and Measurements Introduction Chapter One From Origins to Contested Site: The Ponte Vecchio and Villani's 'Myth of Florence' Chapter Two The Politics of Bridge Building: Civic Patronage and Post-Flood Repair, 1333-1339 Chapter Three The Commission and Building History of the Ponte Vecchio, 1339-1346 Chapter Four Modo et Forma: The 'Manner and Form' of the Ponte Vecchio's Construction Chapter Five 'A Beautiful and Honorable Bridge': The Ponte Vecchio, Medieval Aesthetics, and the Politics of Urban Design Chapter Six 'For the Honor and Value of the People and Commune of Florence': The Shops on the Ponte Vecchio and Their Well-Regulated Order, 1346-1495 Epilogue The Ponte Vecchio after 1495 Appendices I Chronicle Accounts of the Flood of 4 November 1333 II Ponte Vecchio Documents, 972 to Flood of 1333 III Ponte Vecchio Documents, 1333 Flood to 1495 IV Accounts of the Completion of the Ponte Vecchio Bibliography Index Photo Credits