Biography

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.