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The Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge", (:ˈponte ˈvɛkkjo)) is a Medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy, noted for still having shops built along it, as was once common. Butchers initially occupied the shops; the present tenants are jewelers, art dealers and souvenir sellers. The Ponte Vecchio's two neighbouring bridges are the Ponte Santa Trinita and the Ponte alle Grazie. ==History and construction== The bridge spans the Arno at its narrowest point〔Touring Club Italiano, ''Firenze e dintorni'' 1964:321〕 where it is believed that a bridge was first built in Roman times, when the via Cassia crossed the river at this point.〔 The Roman piers were of stone, the superstructure of wood. 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〔 save two of its central piers, as noted by Giovanni Villani in his ''Nuova Cronica''.〔Bartlett, Kenneth R. (1992). ''The Civilization of the Italian Renaissance''. Toronto: D.C. Heath and Company. ISBN 0-669-20900-7 (Paperback). Page 40.〕 It was rebuilt in 1345, Giorgio Vasari recorded the tradition in his day, that attributed its design to Taddeo Gaddi,〔 besides Giotto one of the few artistic names of the trecento still recalled two hundred years later. Modern historians present Neri di Fioravanti as a possible candidate.〔 Sheltered in a little loggia at the central opening of the bridge is a weathered dedication stone, which once read ''Nel trentatrè dopo il mille-trecento, il ponte cadde, per diluvio dell' acque: poi dieci anni, come al Comun piacque, rifatto fu con questo adornamento''.〔Translated it would read, "In the thirty-third year following thirteen hundred, the bridge fell, from a watery flood: ten years later, at the pleasure of the Commune, it was rebuilt, with this adornment". (Touring Club Italiano, ''Firenze e dintorni'' 1964:321)〕 The Torre dei Mannelli was built at the southeast corner of the bridge to defend it. The bridge consists of three segmental arches: the main arch has a span of the two side arches each span . The rise of the arches is between 3.5 and 4.4 meters (11½ to 14½ feet), and the span-to-rise ratio 5:1.〔. Retrieved on 2007-02-16〕 It has always hosted shops and merchants who displayed their goods on tables before their premises, after authorization of the Bargello (a sort of a lord mayor, a magistrate and a police authority). The back shops (''retrobotteghe'') that may be seen from upriver, were added in the seventeenth century.〔 It is said that the economic concept of bankruptcy originated here: when a money-changer could not pay his debts, the table on which he sold his wares (the "banco") was physically broken ("rotto") by soldiers, and this practice was called "bancorotto" (broken table; possibly it can come from "banca rotta" which means "broken bank"). Not having a table anymore, the merchant was not able to sell anything.〔''Oxford English Dictionary, it gives the origin as from the Italian ''banca rotta'' "broken bench", but not specifically from this bridge.'' online, '()'.〕〔''Dictionary.com, an Ask.com Service, it gives the origin as from the Italin ''Banca Rotta'' "broken moneylenders bench", and is first recorded in 1552. It does not specifically link it with this bridge'', '()'.〕 During World War II, the Ponte Vecchio was not destroyed by Germans during their retreat on the advance of the liberating British 8th Army on August 4, 1944, unlike all other bridges in Florence.〔''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' online, '(Ponte Vecchio )'.〕 This was allegedly, according to many locals and tour guides, because of an express order by Hitler.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.timetravelturtle.com/2012/04/ponte-vecchio-florence-hitler/ )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.holiday-velvet.com/guide/2009/11/florence-ponte-vecchio-history/ )〕 Access to Ponte Vecchio was, however, obstructed by the destruction of the buildings at both ends, which have since been rebuilt using a combination of original and modern design. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ponte Vecchio」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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