DISNEYLAND ON THE ARNO
If in 1345, Taddeo Gaddi had not built the iconic Ponte Vecchio in Florence, five centuries later Walt Disney would have! It was built in stone to withstand the recurring floods of the Arno River which had washed out the previous wooden bridges. The Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) is both an architectural achievement and a commercial and tourist attraction. In 1966, it stood firm during the “mother of all floods” [1] which damaged a large part of Florence. It was erected as a self-paying bridge: the rents paid by the shops built on both sides covered its construction cost. However, the commercial beginning of the bridge was far from glamorous as the first shopkeepers were butchers and tanners. Fed up with the stench and the muck in the river, in 1593 Grand Duke Ferdinando I Medici of Tuscany kicked them out and replaced them with jewelers, cleaner and in the eye of the banker-cum cardinal, more profitable activities. Made a cardinal as the r...