What about
Famous Florence River Arno?

Ponte Vecchio Florence Bridge & Vasari Corridor

Florence river, Ponte Vecchio bridge and Vasari Corridor are famous worldwide. The river through Florence Italy is called river Arno (Arnus) and it is one of the most important rivers of Italy.

The length of the river Arno is 248 km. River that runs through Florence starts in the Apennines of Arezzo, passes through Empoli and flows into Ligurian Sea near Pisa.

Florence River Arno

River Arno Italy

Several times in its history Florence has suffered from flooding of the river Arno. The most devastating catastrophe were recorded in 1333, 1557, 1884 and 1966.

1966 Flood of the Arno river - Interesting facts
On November 3 and 4 in 1966 the basin of the Florence river received 600 mm of rain which is normally a half-year norm.

Narrow streets of the city turned into wild streams that carried away cars, stones, garbage containers, columns... 250 million cubic meters of water struck Florence flooding her in easy 15 minutes.

River Arno was captured by the most devastating flood of its entire history - the Arno flood of 1966 - and nothing could stop it.

Find out more at a Photographic Essay - The Great Flood of Florence, 1966

Looking for a Florence River hotel?

Here are some good hotels near river Arno in Florence.

Florence Ponte Vecchio Bridge Facts

Ponte Vecchio is the oldest bridge of Florence Italy built across the river Arno. Ponte Vecchio bridge was built in 1345 by the architect Neri di Fioravanti.

Bridge Ponte Vecchio across the River

It's interesting to know, though, that one of the most famous Italian bridges - Florence Ponte Vecchio - is located on exactly the same spot where three previous Arno bridges in Florence Italy were built - the bridge of Roman times, the bridge that collapsed in 1117 and the one destroyed by the 1333 flood of the Florence river Arno.

Ponte Vecchio bridge is different from the other Florence Italy bridges also due the the fact that it has lines of buildings along both sides of the bridge.

There have been many changes done over the centuries but their modern look is really impressing. The line of buildings breaks in the middle of the bridge leaving an open area.

You will find that so called Vasari Corridor is located above the buildings on the Ponte Vecchio bridge. The Vasari Corridor in Florence is named after the architect who built it especially for Cosimo I, so he could easily get from the Pitti Palace to the Palazzo Vecchio.

Very quickly after the build of the Ponte Vecchio across the Florence river, in XIV century the bridge buildings were transformed to jewelry shops (gioielli). Read more about shopping in Florence.

Take the most exciting Florence guided tours!

Florence River Cruise on a Traditional Barchetto
Private Tour: Florence Sightseeing Tour
Photography Walking Tour: Birth of the Renaissance
... and more!