The Burgo Bridge ''(Puente del Burgo)'' is a medieval bridge, built over an older bridge of Roman origin, which crosses the

Lérez River The Lérez is a river in South West Galicia, Spain. The river meets the Atlantic Ocean at Pontevedra, where it creates Pontevedra's ria. The sources of the long stream are in Serra do Candán, in the mountain of San Bieito, in the parish of ...

in the city of

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a city in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. It is the capital of both the ''Pontevedra (comarca), Comarca'' and Province of Pontevedra, and the capital of the Rías Baixas. It is als ...

, Spain. It is on the route of

the Portuguese Way The Portuguese Way (, ) is the name of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage routes starting in Portugal. It begins at Porto or Lisbon. From Porto, along the Douro River, pilgrims travel north crossing the five main rivers—the Ave, Cávado, Neiva, ...

to the north of the historic centre of Pontevedra and to the south of the Burgo neighbourhood. Between the

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

es above the

pillars A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

are carved the famous stone pilgrim's shells.

History

The present medieval bridge is the heir to the first Roman bridge over which the Roman road XIX passed according to

Antonine Itinerary The Antonine Itinerary (, "Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is an , a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly in part from a survey carried out under Augustus, it describes t ...

. This bridge still existed in the 12th century but was in ruins. It remained for a very long time the only crossing point of the

Lérez The Lérez is a river in South West Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. The river meets the Atlantic Ocean at Pontevedra, where it creates Pontevedra's ria. The sources of the long stream are in Serra do Candán, in the mountain of San Bieito, in t ...

River on

. The first references to the current bridge date back to 1165, when King

Ferdinand the Catholic Ferdinand II, also known as Ferdinand I, Ferdinand III, and Ferdinand V (10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), called Ferdinand the Catholic, was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband and co-ruler of Queen Isabella I of ...

of León and King

Afonso I of Portugal Dom Afonso IOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician languages, Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', depending on th ...

signed the Peace of Lérez in the ''super flumen Lerice in vetula ponte'', designating the old Roman bridge as the Old Bridge. In the 15th century, the bridge had 15 arches, losing one arch when a new

levee A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural ...

was built to increase the depth of the port. Pontevedra_49-01r

In the 16th century, the bridge had two defensive towers, one on each side of the river, the one closest to the town being connected to the walls of Pontevedra and annexed to the old prison, as shown in the drawings by Pier Maria Baldi and Celso Garcia de la Riega. On 26 November 1646, an enormous flood of the Lérez almost brought the bridge down. The towers were destroyed by the English in 1719. One of them was rebuilt, but it disappeared for good in 1805. In the centre there was a

calvary Calvary ( or ) or Golgotha () was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, Jesus was crucified. Since at least the early medieval period, it has been a destination for pilgrimage. ...

which, in the middle of the 19th century, was moved to the surroundings of the Plaza Alonso de Fonseca, next to the

Basilica of Saint Mary Major Santa Maria Maggiore (), also known as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major or the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great, is one of the four major papal basilicas and one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome. The largest Marian church in Rome, it is ...

. At that time, the bridge had only 12 visible arches. The bridge stands on the city's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

with its

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

and

. The first major renovation of the bridge was undertaken in 1886 under the direction of the engineer Prudencio Guadalfajara for its repair and enlargement. In 1890, the stone parapet was removed and a metal

guard rail Guard rails, guardrails, railings or protective guarding, in general, are a boundary feature and may be a means to prevent or deter access to dangerous or off-limits areas while allowing light and visibility in a greater way than a fence. Commo ...

was installed. Between 1953 and 1954, a major renovation and widening was carried out, with two lanes for vehicles and pavements on both sides for pedestrians. The idea of covering the pavements was also considered, which in the end was not done due to lack of budget. The

scallop Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve molluscs in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related famili ...

s sculpted on the arches were a work commissioned in 1950 from Raymundo Vazquez and carried out by one of his

stonemasons Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar ...

. In 1988, concrete platforms were built for the extension of Buenos Aires Avenue, supported by

, which concealed the 11th arch of the bridge below. During the excavations,

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

's famous milliarium, dated 134 A.D, was discovered. In 2006, an

archaeological excavation In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

uncovered arches number 14 and 15 of the bridge and the 15th century harbour jetty with a blind broken arch. During the excavation, archaeologists found two milliaria, one dedicated to Emperor

Maximinus Daza Galerius Valerius Maximinus, born as Daza (; 20 November 270 – July 313), was Roman emperor from 310 to 313. He became embroiled in the civil wars of the Tetrarchy between rival claimants for control of the empire, in which he was defeated ...

of the 4th century and the other to Emperor

Nerva Nerva (; born Marcus Cocceius Nerva; 8 November 30 – 27 January 98) was a Roman emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became emperor when aged almost 66, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the succeeding rulers of the Flavian dynast ...

of the 1st century.

Pedestrianisation

In mid-2019, work began on the complete

pedestrianisation Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or ...

of the bridge and was completed in 2020, with the installation of new night lighting for the bridge., Thanks to this renovation, a new granite covering was put in place and the old

was removed and replaced by a new one,

Description

It is a stone arch pedestrian bridge that has undergone alterations at different times. Made of granite, it consists of eleven low semicircular arches. The bridge has 10 visible arches,

starlings Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine (perching) birds known for the often dark, glossy iridescent sheen of their plumage; their complex vocalizations including mimicking; and their distinctive, often elaborate swarming behavior, known ...

, a 1.10-metre high grey galvanised steel

with integrated lighting and stone

s added as medallions between the arches above the bridge piers in the 1950s. The Burgo bridge is 11.2 metres wide and 158 metres long. The stone pavement incorporated in 2020 small blue lights that mark

Culture

At the southern end of the bridge, at its confluence with the old town of Pontevedra, there is an archaeological area with the remains of the original medieval bridge (especially arches 14 and 15) and the medieval port, which had been buried by works carried out over the centuries.

History

Pedestrianisation

Description

Culture

References

See also

Bibliography

Related articles

External links