PONTE, Antonio da

(b. ~1512 Venezia, d. 1597 Venezia)

Italian architect, possibly the brother of Paolo da Ponte, architect in Padua. In 1563 Antonio da Ponte became Proto al Sal, a lifetime appointment as superintendant of public building works controlled by the Magistratura del Sale in Venice. Da Ponte was head architect of the rebuilding of the Ducal Palace that was badly damaged by fire in 1574.

In 1589 Antonio da Ponte continued the work on the prisons in Venice (across the canal east of the Doge’s Palace) begun by Giovanni Antonio Rusconi in 1563. The works were completed in 1614 by da Ponte’s nephews, Antonio and Tommaso Contin.

After the original wooden structure of the Rialto Bridge had collapsed repeatedly, it was decided that a stone bridge was necessary. Between 1588 and 1591 da Ponte, with the help of Antonio Contin, rebuilt the Rialto Bridge to a design to which he had contributed.

Ponte di Rialto

The Rialto Bridge is one of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice. It is the oldest bridge across the canal. In this area, which originally housed the food market, there has always been a canal crossing, at first a pontoon bridge was built in 1181 which was replaced by a wooden bridge in 1255. The wooden bridge was made from two inclined ramps with a mobile section in the middle, in order to allow the passage of ships. (The wooden bridge is depicted by Carpaccio’s painting.) This bridge was partly burnt in 1310, and later collapsed in 1444 and 1524. In the 16th century it was decided to rebuild the bridge in stone. Several plans were proposed, and finally the plan of Antonio da Ponte was selected.

The current bridge, a stone arch, is similar in style to the previous wooden bridge. Two inclined ramps lead up to a central portico. On either side of the portico, the covered ramps carry rows of shops.

Send Postcard Learn More

Ponte di Rialto

The picture shows the Rialto Bridge, seen from the north. Originally built of wood, it was rebuilt in stone between 1588 and 1591 by Antonio da Ponte.

Send Postcard Learn More