Firenze Trip Overview
An alternative to see Florence and be able to see the highest number of iconic attractions: the Florentine gondola on Arno River. This is a fantastic seated experience that will allow travellers to observe Florence wonders from an original, unique point of view. The barchetto is a wooden boat that was used for the transport of goods for the construction of the city walls along the river.
Participating to this tour means having an extraordinary chance to enjoy some true beauties of the Tuscan capital with a local exceptional tour guide and discover curiosities and secrets of the buildings adorning its banks. On your Barchetto you will pass under the world-famous Ponte Vecchio, Old Bridge, seeing all the iconic Florentine palazzos parading before your eyes. A glass of prosecco completes the deal while enjoying the splendor of Florence at the sunset, when the landscape is colored with ocher and red, and it all looks like a perfect picture.
Additional Info
Duration: 2 hours
Starts: Firenze, Italy
Trip Category: Private & Custom Tours >> Private Sightseeing Tours
Explore Firenze Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Firenze, Toscana, Italy
An alternative to see Florence and be able to see the highest number of iconic attractions: the Florentine gondola on Arno River. This is a fantastic seated experience that will allow travellers to observe Florence wonders from an original, unique point of view. The barchetto is a wooden boat that was used for the transport of goods for the construction of the city walls along the river.
Participating to this tour means having an extraordinary chance to enjoy some true beauties of the Tuscan capital with a local exceptional tour guide and discover curiosities and secrets of the buildings adorning its banks. On your Barchetto you will pass under the world-famous Ponte Vecchio, Old Bridge, seeing all the iconic Florentine palazzos parading before your eyes. A glass of prosecco completes the deal while enjoying the splendor of Florence at the sunset, when the landscape is colored with ocher and red, and it all looks like a perfect picture.
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Pass By: Ponte Vecchio, 50125, Florence Italy
You will pass under the Ponte Vecchio
Pass By: Ponte Vecchio, 50125, Florence Italy
Ponte Vecchio is one of the symbols of Florence, a mandatory place for souvenir photos of tourists visiting this beautiful city. It was the first and oldest bridge in Florence that crosses the Arno River at its narrowest point. Ponte Vecchio has survived disastrous events of all kinds: the first wooden construction dates back to Roman times, but was damaged several times by fires and floods, such as the tragic one of 1933. Then, in 1345 the bridge was rebuilt by Taddeo Gaddi disciple of Giotto, on three arches, deeper and more resistant to the fury of water. It is said that during the Second World War, its beauty also affected Hitler and for this reason, it was the only bridge in Florence that was not bombed by the Germans in 1944.
Pass By: Ponte Santa Trinita, Florence Italy
The bridge rises between Ponte Vecchio and Ponte alla Carraia; it takes its name from the nearby church of the Holy Trinity and is one of the most beautiful bridges in Italy and among the most elegant in Europe.
Built in 1252, under the patronage of the Frescobaldi family, it combines Piazza Santa Trinita with Piazza de ’Frescobaldi, with two important buildings at the head of the bridge: the Palazzo Spini Feroni to the north and the Palazzo della Missione to the south.
The Frescobaldi palace still retains its medieval structure, and the nearby square named after this family because it was they who built the first crossing of the Arno in 1252 which later became Ponte Santa Trinita following the reconstructions. It was a wooden bridge that connected Via Tornabuoni with the other bank of the Arno.
It collapsed in 1259 under the weight of the crowd who attended a show on the Arno, and the monks architects Giovanni and Ristoro will put it back on its feet.
It was rebuilt in stone, but it gave way under the pressure of the great flood of 1333 which spared only Ponte alle Grazie. The subsequent rebuilding was slow and lasted for fifty years only began in 1346 and, given the low importance of the bridge, it was completed in 1415.
A new flood, in 1557, swept away the bridge, which however allowed the construction of today’s structure. Cosimo I de ‘Medici commissioned Bartolomeo Ammannati to build a new bridge, more resistant and more beautiful, which lived up to the importance of Via Tornabuoni and Via Maggio, where many noble families of the Medici court had settled. The design lasted 10 years, it seems with the help of Michelangelo in the drawing, who suggested the modern elliptical line of the three arches, which seems to refer to his studies put into practice in the tombs of the Medici Chapels and in the staircase of the vestibule of the Library Medicea Laurenziana.
This curved line is an innovation that anticipates the Baroque fashion and also has an important technical aspect, because it has a static resistance also called the catenary arch, the inverted version, that is, the figure that draws a heavy suspended chain for its two point clothes.
Stop At: Piazza della Signoria, 50122, Florence Italy
Meeting in front at Palazzo vecchio
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: I Renaioli, Lungarno, P.za Francesco Ferrucci, n° 4, 50126 Firenze FI, Italy
In 1995 the “I Renaioli” Association was formed; the Association, created to keep the Arno boats alive, then set other goals which have become the Association’s institutional programs:
the recovery, conservation and maintenance of the Arno boats;
the promotion of navigation in the Arno on small boats;
the spread of rowing rowing.
Historical research on renaioli as an ancient craft and heritage of knowledge related to the Arno and the city.
the defense and conservation of the river environment as a historical-environmental heritage.
RECOVERY THE STORAGE AND MAINTENANCE OF THE BOATS
The Association has registered all the small boats existing in the stretch of the Arno between Pontassieve and Signa; they were recovered from the bottom of the Arno and restored. The members of the Association take care of its maintenance.
THE CONSTRUCTION SITE
PROMOTION OF NAVIGATION WITH ARNO BOATS
For the promotion of navigation for years, we have resumed sailing in the historical stretches of the Arno, proposing the “In barchetto sull’Arno” trips with considerable public success.
After many years of absence, the boats are back under the Ponte Vecchio.
THE EXCURSIONS
DIFFUSION OF THE ROW IN PERTICA
The Palio dei navicelli has been revived since 2002 after a century of interruption, the last editions date back to the 19th century except for one episode in the 1930s. The Palio took place for 7 years with the collaboration of the Society of St. John the Baptist. is suspended.
For those who want to learn to row or pole, rowing courses are available by reservation.
I refer to the Palio of Navicelli page
HISTORICAL RESEARCH
In collaboration with various research institutions, interviews of the old renaioli were collected. These documents constitute a collection of data on renaioli and the Arno accessible to all and open to any contribution.
CONSERVATION OF THE FLUVIAL ENVIRONMENT AS A HISTORICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HERITAGE
We organize environmental education activities together with municipalities and schools, we collaborate with organizations and associations that work to maintain our historical heritage. Our boat trips take place in historically relevant stretches of river and allow knowledge of the river environment
Duration: 15 minutes
