This morning, sensors were placed beneath the Ponte Vecchio by the Italian Alpine River and Speleologist Group and Aquatic Emergency Team.
The electronic devices monitored the stability of the 32-metre-long bridge, whose present-day construction dates to the fourteenth century. Technicians conducted checks from a dinghy on the Arno river throughout the morning.
Prior to carrying out the checks the Florence fire service commented that the work was not as a result of any direct risk or concern for the bridge, but solely as a request between the Earth Sciences Department of the University of Florence to monitor the condition of monuments of historical importance.
The tests were carried out following the collapse of lungarno Torrigiani on May 25, believed to have been caused by a broken water pipe.
