Love Locks

(from Garance)

The bottom two photos were taken by me when I went to Florence with my mother-in-law in June.  I had never seen 'love locks' before.  What's the meaning?

Thank God for wikipedia.  Love padlocks is the article (here).  Let me summarize.  

• They actually mention this spot in Florence in the article: "In Florence, Italy, 5,500 love padlocks affixed to the Ponte Vecchio bridge were removed by the city council. According to the council the padlocks pose both an aesthetic problem as well as scratch and dent the metal of the bridge.^[9]"
• ^{The tradition is apparently a newer one, only really noticed in the 2000s!}