Puente de Piedra (Zaragoza)
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The Puente de Piedra ( en , Stone Bridge) is a
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
across the river
Ebro , name_etymology = , image = Zaragoza shel.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza , map = SpainEbroBasin.png , map_size = , map_caption = The Ebro ...
in
Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
. The Puente de Piedra is also called the Bridge of Lions because since 1991 four lions (symbols of the city) have been placed on the pillars at each end of the bridge. The lion statues were designed by Francisco Rallo Lahoz.


History

Beginning in the 12th century the citizens of Zaragoza tried to build a bridge across the Ebro. In 1401–1440, the Puente de Piedra was built under the direction of Gil de Menestral. The
flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
in 1643 destroyed two central bridge spans. The bridge then looked as it does in the painting "View of Zaragoza" by
Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo (c.1612 – February 10, 1667) was a Spanish Baroque portrait and landscape painter, the most distinguished of the followers of his father-in-law Velázquez, whose style he imitated more closely than did any o ...
(1647). In 1659 the bridge was reconstructed. Architect Felipe de Busignac restored two destroyed towers and expanded the bridge piers. In 1789, architect Agustín Sanz strengthened the Ebro's bank at the Monastery of St. Lazarus to prevent the risk of flooding of the bridge. The reconstruction of the bridge was of great economic importance for the development of the region and all the country.Historia del Puente de Piedra Zaragoza


Literature

GUITART APARICIO, Cristóbal, «El Puente de Piedra», en Guillermo Fatás Cabeza, (coord.) Guía histórico-artística de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Ayuntamiento (Servicio de acción cultural), 1991, págs. 197-200. .


External links

{{coord, 41, 39, 26, N, 0, 52, 31, W, source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title Bridges in Aragon Buildings and structures in Zaragoza