Slide 16 of 27: A city with a long and illustrious history, Florence needs no introductions. Its famous Ponte Vecchio is captured here in 1893, just 22 years after Rome replaced the city as the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. During the Second World War the city was under a year-long German occupation and as the British troops closed in, the Germans had plans to destroy all of the bridges along the Arno river in 1944, including Ponte Vecchio. Thankfully, a consul managed to convince a German general to spare the bridge due to its historic value.
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