Situated along the river, it takes its name from the bridge on the River Arno which links Signa to Lastra.
The founding of Ponte a Signa dates back to 1252, when the Cistercians built a pier on the river so the mills in the hamlet of San Martino a Gangalandi could be resupplied. It continued to grow as a fluvial port and its economy came to rely on the production of straw hats, sold in the nearby village of Porto di Mezzo.
Over the centuries the whole economic and urban development of the village revolved around the bridge that connected the two river banks.
The earliest records of a bridge on the River Arno on this site date from 1120. It collapsed and was reconstructed between the 12th and 13th centuries then demolished in 1326 by Castruccio Castracani, after the siege of the castle of Signa, preventing the advance of the Florentine army. Rebuilt the following year, it was modified over the centuries until the last works in 1822.
In 1944, the bridge was blown up by the retreating German troops and later rebuilt closer to the hills.
Mappa