A superb feat of engineering, Antonio da Ponte’s 1592 Istrian stone span took three years and 250,000 gold ducats to construct. Adorned with stone reliefs depicting St Mark and St Theodore on the north side and the Annunciation on the other, the bridge crosses the Grand Canal at its narrowest point, connecting the neighbourhoods of San Polo and San Marco.

　　Interestingly, it was da Ponte's own nephew, Antonio Contino, who designed the city's other famous bridge, the Ponte dei Sospiri.