The Arno is the most important river of central Italy after the River Tiber, the river that goes through Rome.

The river originates in the Apennines. It initially flows south, turning west near Arezzo, passing through Florence and Pisa, eventually flowing into the Tyrrhenian Sea., The Arno is the main river in the region, being 150 miles long. Its main tributaries are the Sieve, the Bisenzio, the Elsa, the Pesa and the Greve.

In Florence there are a number of bridges spanning the Arno. The oldest one is Ponte Vecchio, which stands a few feet from the site where the ancient Roman bridge, swept away in the flood of 1333, used to be.  Besides Ponte Vecchio, there are three other bridges of historical value in Florence: Ammannati’s Ponte Santa Trinita, with it statues of the four seasons, Ponte alla Carraia and Ponte alle Grazie, which replaces the earlier Ponte Rubicone. These bridges, with the exception of Ponte Vecchio, were destroyed during World War II to delay the allies’ crossing the river in pursuit of fleeing German troops. Among the bridges constructed in the XX century are Ponte alla Vittoria, Ponte Giovanni da Verazzano, Ponte all’Indiano, Ponte a Varlungo, the Passerella dell’Isolotto and Ponte San Niccolò.

Bridges in Florence:

• Ponte Vecchio
• Ponte Santa Trinita
• Ponte alla Carraia
• Ponte alle Grazie
• Ponte alla Vittoria
• Ponte Giovanni da Verazzano,
• Ponte all’Indiano,
• Ponte a Varlungo,
• Ponte San Niccolò
• Passerella dell’Isolotto

The river is given to periodic flooding, and has caused over the centuries considerable damage: the ancient Roman bridge over the Arno was swept away, together with a statue of Mars, by the flood of 1333, while the most destructive of all was the great flood of 1966. Though it tore no bridges down, it did damage many palaces, churches, works of art and books. Dams built upstream of Florence, though by no means entirely satisfactory, have greatly alleviated the problem in recent years.

The flow of the Arno is irregular and is sometimes described as having a torrent-like behaviour, because it can rapidly go from almost a stream to near flooding conditions. It is not unusual, after strong rains, to find tree trunks propped against some of the bridges.