During the 1200s the population and business growth made it necessary that the two sides of the river were better linked. That first bridge was Called Ponte Vecchio (“Old Bridge”) because in 1220 the town council built a Ponte Nuovo (“New Bridge”), today called Ponte alla Carraia, and a third bridge called Ponte alle Grazie. In 1252 a fourth bridge was built: it was made of stone and was called Ponte Santa Trinita.
During the 13th century many shops were built over the Ponte Vecchio, wooden as on the Ponte alle Grazie: the shops’ tenants were butchers (“beccai”), bag makers, fishmongers and greengrocers that made this place into a specialized marked.
All the bridges were more or less severely damaged by the floods that regularly hit Florence.
Even though it was situated in the stretch that was narrowest, where water was at its most violent and under pressure, the Ponte Vecchio Old Bridge withstood the huge floods of October 1st, 1269 December 15th 1282, and December 5th 1288. The shopkeepers had to begin their activities all over again by themselves: the town council had so resolved. Thank Goodness, they gave the shopkeepers permission to keep their shops for eight years without paying the rent. But Nature scoffed the wretched shopkeepers again, and two fires and a new flood on the 4th of November 1333 caused all the four bridges over the Arno to collapse.