The Puente de Alcántara is a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...

Toledo, Spain Toledo ( , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, capital of the province of Toledo and the ''de jure'' seat of the government and parliament of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. Toledo was declare ...

, spanning the

River Tagus The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to e ...

. The word Alcántara comes from

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

''القنطرة'' (al-qanţarah), which means "arch". Located at the foot of the

Castillo de San Servando The Castle of San Servando is a medieval castle in Toledo, Spain, near the Tagus River. It was begun as a monastery, occupied first by monks and later by the Knights Templar. In 1874 the castle was named a national monument. The fortress was depic ...

, it was built by the Romans after they founded the city. In the Middle Ages it was one of the few entrances for pilgrims into the city. It currently has two arches. There is evidence of its construction in Roman times, at the founding of Toletum. It was damaged and rebuilt in the 10th century, at which time a third arch disappeared, reduced to a gate with a horseshoe arch. It was one of the only bridges that gave access to the city and in the Middle Ages it was the obligatory entry for all pilgrims. During the reign of Alfonso X of Castile it suffered serious damage and was rebuilt. The western tower belongs to this period, later decorated under the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, whose arms decorate its walls. The fruit of the pomegranate (the emblem of Granada) is missing from them, because the

Reconquista The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...

had not finished at that time. The eastern tower was replaced by a Baroque triumphal arch in 1721, because of its ruinous state. It was declared a national cultural monument in 1921. The bridge should not be confused with either the

Alcántara Bridge The Alcántara Bridge (also known as Trajan's Bridge at Alcantara) is a Roman bridge at Alcántara, in Extremadura, Spain. Alcántara is from the Arabic word ''al-Qantarah'' (القنطرة) meaning "the arch". The stone arch bridge was buil ...

Alcántara Alcántara is a municipality in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain, on the Tagus, near Portugal. The toponym is from the Arabic word ''al-Qanṭarah'' (القنطرة) meaning "the bridge". History Archaeological findings have atteste ...

or the

Alconétar Bridge The Alconétar Bridge (Spanish: ''Puente de Alconétar''), also known as Puente de Mantible, was a Roman segmental arch bridge in the Extremadura region, Spain. The ancient structure, which featured flattened arches with a span-to-rise ratio of ...

in the Extremadura region, both Roman bridges which cross the River

Tagus The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see #Name, below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections ...

further downstream.

Gallery

File:Puente Alcantara toledo.jpg, Elevated view of the bridge File:WLM14ES - 11072005 122753 7889 - .jpg, The Baroque triumphal arch File:001 Alcantara - the roman bridge.jpg, The Alcántara Bridge, collotype, 1889 File:Alcántara Bridge by Juan Laurent.jpg, Alcántara Bridge by Juan Laurent, c. 1864–1870
Department of Image Collections
National Gallery of Art Library, Washington, DC

External links

Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Toledo, Spain Alcantara, Toledo Alcantara, Toledo Alcantara, Toledo Bridges in Toledo, Spain Bridges over the Tagus {{Toledo-struct-stub

Gallery

See also

External links