Esposizione Internazionale di Torino 1911 il ponte monumentale sul Po

Catalog Level
Items (Cataloging Focus)

Title Proper/Title Text
Esposizione Internazionale di Torino 1911 il ponte monumentale sul Po

Date of Publication/Creation Date
1911 ca.

Dimensions Description
13.5 x 8.5 cm

Inscription Language
Italian (Language)

Descriptive Note Text

This is a black-and-white photographic postcard captioned “Esposizione Internazionale di Torino 1911 – Il Ponte Monumentale sul Po,” showing the exposition’s monumental bridge over the Po while it was still under construction.  Four tall columns run diagonally from left to right. Each has a foliated capital, and each is topped by a winged Victory standing on a globe with wreaths raised overhead. The figures’ drapery flares in the same direction, so the row reads almost like a sequence of frames. Heavy balustrades line the foreground. Further out, more balustrade sections stand in place but look unfinished, and a crane or derrick on the right-center side still rises among the columns.

The postcard is valuable because it records construction rather than the finished spectacle. A small group of workmen in caps and work clothes is carrying long planks across the deck. Another figure, lower left, leans over the scaffolding near a staircase descending toward the river. Cut blocks and loose balustrade pieces lie around the bridge surface. On the left, a large structure, likely the Water Castle, is entirely caged in timber scaffolding, with a tall openwork spire rising above it. Several bare poles and derricks scatter the middle ground.

The scaffolding, unfinished balustrades, and active work crew suggest the photo was taken in the months just before the exposition opened in late April 1911. That makes it one of the cards publishers issued to build anticipation, before the more familiar views of the completed grounds. 

Current Repository/Geographic Location
Cristina Della Coletta Private Collection (San Diego, USA)

Current Repository Numbers
CDC-PC-MOBR-0023