CNN —In the seven centuries since the Ponte Vecchio was first built in Florence, Italy, the bridge has watched the city changing around it, surviving floods, fires and the Nazi invasion in World War II.
Now, the famed bridge itself is getting a two-year makeover, at the cost of about €2 million, to restore it to its former glory, the city of Florence and the Marchesi Antinorini winemakers announced on Wednesday.
“This is a historic project because Ponte Vecchio has never had a restoration intervention of this technical complexity,” Florence’s mayor Dario Nardella told reporters on Thursday.
Such is the Ponte Vecchio’s significance that it was the only bridge across the Arno River spared by the retreating German army towards the end of World War II.
Previous replacement joints will be upgraded, the stone itself will be strengthened and the footpath’s stone will be restored too.
Persons:
Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio, ”, Dario Nardella, “, Marchesi Antinori, Piero Antinori, Tod’s
Organizations:
CNN, Diesel
Locations:
Florence, Italy, Nazi, Venice