A stunning view of the church Sacré-Cœur on the top of Montmatre.

The bridge was constructed by the Florentine architect Bartolomeo Ammannati from 1567 to 1569. Its site, downstream of the equally remarkable Ponte Vecchio, is a major link in the medieval street plan of Florence, which has been bridged at this site since the thirteenth century. The wooden bridge of 1252 was swept away in a flood seven years later and was rebuilt in stone and destroyed in a flood in 1333.

The bridge spans the Arno at its narrowest point where it is believed that a bridge was first built in Roman times, when the via Cassia crossed the river at this point. The Roman piers were of stone, the superstructure of wood. The bridge first appears in a document of 996.
After being destroyed by a flood in 1117 it was reconstructed in stone but swept away again in 1333 save two of its central piers, as noted by Giovanni Villani in his Nuova Cronica. It was rebuilt in 1345. Giorgio Vasari recorded the traditional view of his day that attributed its design to Taddeo Gaddi — besides Giotto one of the few artistic names of the trecento still recalled two hundred years later.