(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 27 - A 34-year-old US tourist drove a hire car onto the iconic Ponte Vecchio bridge in Florence on Thursday afternoon, sources said Friday.
    The California man told police he had been looking for a parking space and had not realized he was on the medieval bridge.
    He was fined for driving in a pedestrian zone and reported for driving without an international license.
    The Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge") s a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy.
    The only bridge in Florence spared from destruction during the Second World War, it is noted for the shops built along it; building shops on such bridges was once a common practice.
    Butchers, tanners, and farmers initially occupied the shops; the present tenants are jewelers, art dealers, and souvenir sellers.
    (ANSA).