alle Grazie Bridge

Despite its modern appearance, Ponte alle Grazie was the third bridge built in Florence, after Ponte Vecchio and Ponte alla Carraia. In 1237 it was first called Ponte Rubaconte, after the podestà at the time of its construction by the architect Lapo, or Jacopo Tedesco, according to Giorgio Vasari’s account. Its current name comes from a chapel, present from the fourteenth century, containing a venerated image of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Among the numerous religious buildings on the bridge were those of the cloistered Murate nuns, who later moved to Via Ghibellina. In the nineteenth century, one of its shops gave access to the river’s public bathing establishments. In 1944 retreating Nazi forces destroyed the bridge, like all the others except Ponte Vecchio. A reconstruction competition followed the next year. A team including Giovanni Michelucci won, and the new bridge opened on 24 February 1957.