Hello lovely friends
Have your ever come across a bridge filled with lockets? Have your ever witnessed someone locking one in place? Have you ever affixed a padlock on a fence? Do you have you any idea what I am talking about?
image sourceWell, first time I saw them in Florence, in Ponte Vecchio. The bars of the bridge were overwhelmed with locks! That was a sight, I’ll tell you!
Ponte Vecchio, photo by Akamatra
There were hundreds of them, hanging there, literally one over the other! Most of them bronze, but many colorful, those weird decorations were very impressive.
Later on I discovered that they are called “locks of love” or “love padlocks”. It’s a custom of lovers to put a lock on a bridge or a gate to declare their everlasting love to each other. Most of the locks have their initials on them!
Wikipedia offers quite an extended article about the history behind this custom, claiming to have started before World War II, after a heartbreaking story of a young couple.
Riga, Latvia, photo by AkamatraTrue or not, this is a growing worldwide phenomenon. I’ve come upon those lockets in Riga, Latvia a few years ago, and during our last trip to Paris, on the bridges of Seine.
It’s so growing actually that authorities are cutting them off the fences and the bridges in order to avoid weight overload. Some even talk about preserving the monuments.
image source
What’s your opinion on this somewhat weird custom? Good or bad? Silly or romantic? Would you do such an act of love, if that’s what it is?
Love to read your answers!
Smouts for now
Akamatra
