Puente de Alcántara
The Puente de Alcántara is a Roman arch bridge in Toledo, Spain, spanning the Tagus River. The word Alcántara comes from Arabic القنطرة (al-qanţarah), which means "bridge".
Located at the feet of the Castillo de San Servando, it was built by the Romans after they founded the city. In the Middle Ages it was one of the few entrances of the pilgrim into the city.
It currently has two arches. There is evidence of its construction in Roman times, in the founding of Toletum. It was damaged and rebuilt in the 10th century. It is when the third arch disappears, reduced to a gate with a horseshoe arch. It was one of the bridges that gave access to the city and it was in the Middle Ages an obligatory entry for all pilgrims.
Under the reign of Alfonso X of Castile suffered serious damage and was rebuilt. To this last period belongs the western tower, later decorated under the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, whose their arms decorate its walls. The fruit of the pomegranate (emblem of Granada) is missing in them, because the Reconquista had not yet finished.
The eastern tower was replaced by a Baroque triumphal arch in 1721, given its ruinous state.
It was declared a national cultural monument in 1921.
The bridge should not be confused with either the Alcántara Bridge in Alcántara or the Alconétar Bridge in the Extremadura region, both Roman bridges situated further downstream.
Elevated view of the bridge
Puente de Alcántara viewed from Toledo
The baroque triumphal arch
The Alcántara Bridge, collotype, 1889
See also
External links
Coordinates: 39°51′37″N 4°01′03″W / 39.8603°N 4.0175°W