The Puente Sampayo Bridge is a medieval bridge that crosses the Verdugo River between the civil parish of Ponte Sampaio in the municipality of

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the ''Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia. It is also the capital of its own municipality whi ...

and the civil parish of Arcade in the municipality of

Soutomaior : ''For the former Formula-1 driver see Nelson Piquet Souto Maior'' Soutomaior is a municipality in the province of Pontevedra, autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. According to the INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut ...

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 ...

History

The bridge is built on a Roman foundation. The first references to this bridge date back to the 10th and 11th centuries, when it was called "Ponti Sancti Pelagli de Lutto" (Bridge of San Paio de Lodo) and belonged to the

Counts of Burgundy This is a list of the counts of Burgundy, i.e., of the region known as Franche-Comté, not to be confused with the Duchy of Burgundy, from 982 to 1678. House of Ivrea (982–1190) House of Hohenstaufen (1190–1231) House of Andechs (12 ...

. The mythical fortress of San Paio de Lodo was located near this bridge, the place where the armies of Queen Urraca of León and Archbishop Gelmírez fought. In 997,

Almanzor Abu ʿĀmir Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Abi ʿĀmir al-Maʿafiri ( ar, أبو عامر محمد بن عبد الله بن أبي عامر المعافري), nicknamed al-Manṣūr ( ar, المنصور, "the Victorious"), which is often Latiniz ...

crossed it, destroying the fortress that defended it. Anyone wishing to cross the river by the bridge had to pay a toll, but thanks to the archbishop of Santiago de Compostela,

Diego Gelmírez Diego Gelmírez or Xelmírez ( la, Didacus Gelmirici; c. 1069 – c. 1140) was the second bishop (from 1100) and first archbishop (from 1120) of the Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, modern Spain. He is a prominent fig ...

, this practice ended in the 12th century. The bridge witnessed the Battle of Puente Sampayo against the French invasion, which took place on 7 and 8 June 1809 under intense gunfire on both banks of the Verdugo River and in which the French were defeated.

Description

It is a stone bridge 144 metres long and ten metres wide. It has ten pointed arches with large

starlings 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, ...

between them. It has a stone

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

and was extensively modified and rebuilt in the 16th and 18th centuries. The bridge is part of the PO-264 road and belongs to the road network of the

Xunta de Galicia The Xunta de Galicia (; "Regional Government of Galicia") is the collective decision-making body of the government of the autonomous community of Galicia, composed of the President, the Vice-President(s) and the specialized ministers (''Consell ...

. The Portuguese Way to Santiago de Compostela crosses the bridge.

Culture

Plaza de España Plaza de España (Square of Spain) may refer to: In Spain * Plaça d'Espanya, Barcelona in Barcelona * Plaça d'Espanya (Palma) in Palma, Mallorca * Plaza de España, Madrid in Madrid * Plaza de España (Pontevedra) in Pontevedra * Plaza de Es ...

stands the

monument to the heroes of Puente Sampayo The Monument to the Heroes of Puente Sampayo is a memorial and sculptural group created by the Spanish sculptor Julio González Pola, in Pontevedra, Spain. It is in the gardens of the Plaza de España and was inaugurated on 27 August 1911. The ...

. The central granite part symbolises one of the pillars of the Puente Sampayo bridge, where most of the 1809 battle took place.

Gallery

File: Camino de Santiago - Camino Portugués (2846593270).jpg File: Ponte Sampaio, Pontevedra.jpg File: Pontevedra-Pontesampaio 2.jpg File: Pontevedra-Pontesampaio 5.jpg File: Puente Sampayo - panoramio (2).jpg File: Puente de Ponte Sampaio (633595231).jpg File:Pontevedra-Pontesampaio 3.jpg File:Puente Sampayo - panoramio.jpg

History

Description

Culture

Gallery

References

See also

Bibliography

Related articles

External links