The Bridge of Cava da Velha ( pt, Ponte Velha/Ponte da Cava da Velha) is a
Roman bridge
The ancient Romans were the first civilization to build large, permanent bridges. Early Roman bridges used techniques introduced by Etruscan immigrants, but the Romans improved those skills, developing and enhancing methods such as arches and ...
, situated in the
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
of
Castro Laboreiro e Lamas de Mouro, in the
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of
Melgaço in
northern Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
district of Viana do Castelo.
History
The name ''Ponte Nova'' indicates the existence of another structure constructed in the same local (or nearby) at one time anteceding the current bridge.
This may actually be the nearby ''Ponte de São Brás'' or ''Ponta da Assureira''.
The bridge linked the Roman road to Espanha through Portela do Homem, passing through Estrimo (in Spain), Ameixoeira, Porto do Vaga and Assureira - Cova da Velha - Varziela - Castro Laboreiro.
[ The bridge was largely constructed in the 1st century, but does not appear in the two most comprehensive lists of Roman bridges.][Vittorio Galliazzo (1994), p.313-319]
During the Middle Ages, the bridge was reconstructed to take on its current form.[
On 11 May 1758, there was a reference to the bridge, alongside the bridge of São Brás (or Assureira) by the priest Inácio Ribeiro Marques in the parish '' Memórias Paroquiais''.][
]
Architecture
The bridge is situated in an isolated, rural area within the Nature Park of Peneda do Gerês, east of the municipal roadway over the River Laboreiro, from Castro Laboreiro
Castro Laboreiro is a village and a former civil parish in the municipality of Melgaço in the Viana do Castelo District, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Castro Laboreiro e Lamas de Mouro. It is in the mountain range of t ...
.[ A bucolic location links riverbank between two Roman-era pavements, that is located from the Bridge of Assureira and Chapel of São Brás. The ramp arches are supported on the granite margins.][
The bridge has an accentuated ramp oriented north to south, preceded by curve on either margin, over two differentiated arches, the larger and high and the smaller and high, with regular staves.][
The structure, in irregular stone, has supported by worked ashlar with joints filled by smaller stones horizontally.][ Between the arches are prismatic ]starling
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The Sturnidae are named for the genus '' Sturnus'', which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, ''sturnus''. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, ...
upstream, and rectangular buttresses downstream.[ On the bottom of the arches are holes to fit the frame. The pavement is formed by large irregular slabs, protected by stone slab guards.][
]
See also
* List of Roman bridges
This is a list of Roman bridges. The Romans were the world's first major bridge builders. The following list constitutes an attempt to list all known surviving remains of Roman bridges.
A Roman bridge in the sense of this article includes an ...
* List of bridges in Portugal
This list of bridges in Portugal lists bridges of particular historical, scenic, architectural or engineering interest. Road and railway bridges, viaducts, aqueducts and footbridges are included.
Historical and architectural interest bridges
...
References
Notes
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{Roman bridges
Nova
Bridges in Viana do Castelo District
Buildings and structures in Melgaço, Portugal
National monuments in Viana do Castelo District
Castro Laboreiro
Listed bridges in Portugal