Florence - Santa Croce and its Neighbourhood: Ponte alle Grazie
Ponte alle Grazie - Piazza Carlo Goldoni
Ponte alle Grazie was built in 1237 by order of the Messer Rubaconte, of Milanese origins, who was once Florence "podestà". In 1333 the Arno River overflowed and destroyed the bridge. When it was rebuilt, some chapels were added to it. One of them was dedicated to the
Madonna delle Grazie (Our Lady of Graces)
Ponte alle Grazie
and gave the name to the bridge.
In the following years the chapel of the Madonna delle Grazie was transformed in a small Benedictine nunnery. The nuns received food and other goods from a small window: that is why their were called
le murate (those bricked up). In 1424, the nuns moved to a wider convent, which was then called "Le Murate".
Like Ponte Vecchio, Ponte alle Grazie was full of chapels, shops and other facilities; these were however destroyed in 1876, when the street was enlarged.
Unfortunately, the Nazi bombed Ponte alle Grazie in 1944 during their withdrawal from Florence. The present bridge was completed in 1957.
