Bridges Renewed

Bridges Renewed

Now everyone has visions of Florence, Italy. Home and birthplace of the Renaissance.Even if you’ve never been there, you know what Florence looks like.I lived in Florence for 6 years where I studied art and then first began plein air painting. Florence is the best place to paint outdoors. The light is a soft clear blue and is truly picturesque. In my mind it is a city just waiting to be painted.

Spring on the Arno, Ponte alle Grazie6×8″Oil on Linen Panel©Kelly Medfordsee or purchase this painting here

I got to revisit Florence last week for a few days. Though it was pouring rain most of the time, there were a few opportune moments between showers to get out and capture a scene or two in paint.One of the places that always calls me back to paint is the river running through the middle of town, The Arno.This was painted down on the river bank looking towards the Ponte Vecchio and the center of town. The bridge in this painting is called Ponte alle Grazie or Bridge of the Graces.Now it might surprise you to know that this is actually the oldest bridge in Florence, or was until it was rebuilt after WWII in 1953. The bridge was originally built in 1227 and had 9 arches, which also made it the longest bridge of Florence. It wasn’t as we see it today and was lined with those little buildings and structures, similar to what you can still see today on the Ponte Vecchio.This bridge was indestructible (for a long while anyway) and survived the many floods of the Arno which carried away the Ponte Vecchio and Santa Trinità instead. Then in the 19th century the buildings were removed from the bridge to widen it and make way for tram lines (that’s right, Florence also had trams!)Finally, the bridge was sadly destroyed when it was blown up by the Nazis fleeing the city with the arrival of the Allied troops in August of 1944. It took a huge effort and a lot of dynamite to finally take down this bridge.Undeterred, the city of Florence held a competition for an architect to rebuild the bridge and by 1953 it was completed to how we see it today. It no longer resembles the antique bridge, but is a more practical (and shorter) modern day bridge.Fascinating? And that is just the story of one bridge. Florence is a wealth of history and stories.You can see or purchase today’s painting here. See all other paintings from the 120 Day Project here.

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Umbria, Italy

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