Top sights in Florence – what to see in a single day PONTE VECCHIO It is said that the Ponte Vecchio existed in Roman times as a passageway along the Via Cassia.  After being destroyed and rebuilt a number of times, Ponte Vecchio as we know it today was reconstructed on three arches in 1345, probably by Neri di Fioravante.  The tiny shops of gold merchants ( in the middle ages there were fishmongers, butchers and leather shops ) and the small houses on the sides of the bridge are its most characteristic features. PALAZZO PITTI Palazzo Pitti was built in 1458 by one of the richest and most powerful…