Medici Bridge

The origin of the Medici bridge, which connects the historic village of Pontassieve with the hamlet of San Francesco di Pelago, dates back to the half of the XVI century, when Cosimo I de’ Medici commissioned it to Stefano di San Piero a Ponti and his son Tommaso, after the destruction of the old bridge due to a river Sieve overflow.

It’s from this bridge, which was the connection between Firenze and Val di  Sieve area, Casentino and Valdarno, that the town Pontassieve takes its name.

The Medici Bridge was restored in 1788 by order of Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo of Lorraine and then partially rebuilt after the damage caused by bombing during the Second World War.
It has a structure made of two red brick arches resting on a strong central stone pylon, dominated by the coat of arms of the noble Florentine family and is entirely paved in stone.