Statues of the Four Seasons, Ponte Santa Trinita, Florence

Ponte Santa Trinita

15/7/2019

Ponte Santa Trinita

The Ponte Santa Trinita was designed by Bartolomeo Ammannati (1511-92) for Cosimo I de’ Medici (r. 1537-74), and built between 1567 and 1570 to replace the bridge that had been destroyed in the catastrophic flood of 1557.

The design consists of three stone arches, which recall the curved lids of the marble sarcophagi in the Sacrestia Nuova (New Sacristy) of the church of San Lorenzo. The three arches are crowned, on each side, by capricorns, one of the emblems of Cosimo I.

The delightful statues of the four seasons were added in 1608, on the occasion of the marriage of Cosimo II de' Medici (r. 1609-21) to Maria Maddalena of Austria.

In August 1944 the Ponte di Santa Trinita was one of the three ancient bridges that were blown up by the retreating German forces. It was rebuilt under the direction of Riccardo Gizdulich and Emilio Brizzi between 1952 and 1958, using the same stones wherever possible.

The four statues were also fished out of the river, reassembled and replaced on the bridge. Unfortunately, the head of the statue of Spring, which stands on the north-eastern side of the bridge, could not be found. Luigi Bellini, a local antiquarian, offered a reward for its discovery and in 1961 it was finally retrieved and returned to its owner.