Ruined in 1117 and later reconstructed, it was destroyed again
in 1333 by flooding and rebuilt once again in 1345, perhaps by
Neri di Fioravante, but this time in stone making it very solid.
Due to the enourmous amount of traffic crossing over the bridge,
the more enterprising decided to set up shop on the bridge
itself. The first merchants consisted primarily of blacksmiths,
butchers, and tanners catering mostly to travelling soldiers not
surprisingly. When half of the population perished with the
Black Plague in 1348 those who survived began to question their
old ways of living. Shortly after this period the Medici family
moved into Florence bringing with them vast wealth as
appreciation for the finer things in life. When they
acknowledged the use of the Arno by the merchants led to a grave
degree of pollution of its waters, they decided to take action
by replacing them with goldsmiths and artists and soon the
number of shops greatly increased. Eventually between the years
of 1565 and 1800 an upper level, a