Ponte Nomentano
Giovanni Battista Altadonna Italian
Not on view
This photograph depicts a well-known landmark of the Roman Campagna: the Ponte Nomentano, an ancient bridge topped by a medieval fortification that spans the river Aniene. Taking a high position with his camera, Altadonna situated the bridge within a sprawling countryside framed by mountains beyond. This subject was a favorite of artists, and he contributed to a visual tradition that includes earlier works by the engraver Giuseppe Vasi and painter Camille Corot. Altadonna trained at the Venetian Academy and began his career as a miniature painter and retoucher before opening a photography studio in his native Trento in 1863. Although primarily a portraitist, he made a series of views of Rome in an appealing oval format in the early 1860s.
