Ponte Vecchio
The medieval shop-lined bridge over the Arno in Florence, Italy.
At a glance
| Source | Author | Role | In one line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither Here Nor There | Bill Bryson | subject | The clearest sign, for Bryson, of Florence’s decline since 1972. |
Neither Here Nor There — Bill Bryson (1991)
Source: Readwise highlight
Nowhere is the decline in quality in Florence more vivid than the Ponte Vecchio, the shop-lined bridge across the Arno River.
- Role: subject
- In the book: Chapter 15. Twenty years earlier the bridge held silversmiths and artisan jewellers and was quiet enough to photograph Stephen Katz on the rail. Now it is “like the stowage deck of the Lusitania”, covered with vendors selling cheap jewellery and replica luggage on blankets, with crowds he calls unbelievable.
- Why it matters: It is his concrete before-and-after example of what tourism has done to the city, and the sharpest image in the Florence chapter’s argument.