Recent History
Along the Ponte Vecchio, there were many padlocks locked to various places, especially to the railing around the statue of Benvenuto Cellini. This is a recent tradition for the Ponte Vecchio, although it has been practiced in Russia and in Asia before. It was perhaps introduced by the padlock shop owner at the end of the bridge. It is popularly connected to idea of love and lovers: by locking the padlock and throwing the key into the river, the lovers became eternally bonded. This is an example of the negative impact of mass tourism: thousands of padlocks needed to be removed frequently, spoiling or damaging the structure of the centuries-old bridge; however, it seems to have decreased after the city administration put a sign on the bridge mentioning a 50€ penalty for those caught locking something to the fence.
There is a similar ongoing padlock phaenomena at Ponte Milvio, due to one of Federico Moccia's books.
The bridge was severely damaged in the 1966 flood of the Arno.
The bridge is mentioned in the aria "O mio babbino caro".
Read more about this topic: Ponte Vecchio
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)