Bridges over the Arno

Yesterday, Donald and I decided to take a walk through Altrarno, the neighborhood of "the other side" of the Arno river, which bisects Florence. There are bridges across the river every few blocks, and we decided to cross the nearest bridge. It is especially nice because it is one bridge away from the Ponte Vecchio, which is lined with shops. It is a good place to take photos of the Ponte Vecchio, and also, there are wide open views of the Arno upstream.

As we loitered on the bridge, taking photos and enjoying the view, I noticed a padlock on the railing, with two or three smaller locks attached to it. "Odd", I thought. "Do bicyclists keep their locks here for when they go to Florence?"

About halfway across the river, I found a chain with about five padlocks attached to it. I was reminded of a gate with multiple locks, so that different people with different keys all have access to the area. I revised my assumption. "Maybe a group of people are sharing this chain, but they bicycle into town at different times, so they only need one chain."

However, on the other side of the river, I encountered a bundle of locks that completely blew away the shared chain concept away.Here, I spied a bundle of at least 20 padlocks linked to each other in total disorganization. I pointed it out to Donald. "What do you think this is about?" I asked. He shook his head. Hard to say. We pondered the locks for a few minutes, sharing ideas, but none of our ideas seemed plausible.

We walked around the Altrarno neighborhood, to the Pitti Palace, to Chiesa de Santa Spirito. It rained. We stopped in a bakery to have cafe and cookies. Cafe and cookies is the best way to let your feet recover from hours of walking. For 3 Euro, you can get 2 fabulous cups of coffee, prepared to your order, and a couple of cookies too. But, I digress.

Eventually, we wandered back to the Ponte Vecchio, the most notable bridge over the Arno, lined with gold shops and filled with tourists. Even at 4:00PM on a rainy Sunday, the bridge was filled with tourists carrying umbrellas.

Halfway across the bridge, Donald pulled me aside. "Come look at the river," he said. At the center point of the bridge, there is a 2 meter space without shops, where the river is viewable. My attention was distracted from the river by the railing around a small statue. The railing was covered with hundreds of padlocks. Hundreds.

On the fence, there was an explanatory sign, in brass, in Italian and English: "It is forbidden to attach locks to the railing." Which came first, I wondered, the padlocks or the sign? Was the plethora of padlocks a social statement?

Why the padlocks? Search the Internet for "Padlocks" and "Arno", and you will find the answer.

The Legend of Ponte Vecchio Padlocks

The Ponte Vecchio (wikipedia)

Ponte Vecchio: Travel to Florence

ADDENDUM for those of you lacking time for research: couples write their names on one side of the padlock, the date on the other side, then lock it to the railing, and throw the key into the Arno, symbolizing the eternity of their love. There are indications that this is an American tradition, and not an Italian one. Personally, I imagine piles of keys under these bridges...