Alcantara Bridge
Introduction
The Alcántara Bridge is a Roman arch bridge built between the years 103 and 104 over the Tagus River in the vicinity of the current Cáceres town of Alcántara in Extremadura, Spain, near the border with Portugal. It is a bridge that combines refined technique with aesthetics and functionality, one of the clearest exponents of what was Roman civil engineering impregnated with propaganda. It is located on the route between Augusta Emerita, current Mérida "Mérida (Spain)"), and Bracara Augusta, current Braga in the north of Portugal, in a region far from large population centers but well considered in ancient times for its metal deposits.[4].
The bridge measures 58.2 m high, has a length of 194 m and consists of six arches, of unequal height, supported by five pillars that start at different levels.[5][6] Its high pillars provided with buttresses that enhance its verticality and its arches promote the sought-after monumentality and were considered an archetype of other works, such as the nearby but more modest Segura bridge.[4] In its central arch the emperor is alluded to in whose period was raised, Trajan, and to the municipalities in the area that contributed to the project. Damaged and rebuilt on several occasions from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, the bridge has been described by chroniclers, travelers and scholars who have been able to admire it throughout history and who have left testimonies of praise from the Middle Ages to the present day.[1].
The bridge was extensively renovated with the addition of the central arch, as well as the plaques located on it, at the end of the century, around 1480, by Juan de Zúñiga y Pimentel with the intention of praising the Romanity of Spain and uniting it with the reign of the Catholic Monarchs and their relationship with the Emperor Trajan of Hispanic origin. After various vicissitudes, some of its arches were destroyed in 1860 and it was thoroughly renovated during the reign of Elizabeth II, giving it its current appearance. In the same way, the temple that is next to the entrance to the bridge on the left bank, although a good part of the ashlars are of Roman origin, seems to be made much later, and the inscription on the tombstone that appears on the pediment does not correspond to the real facts of the construction and history of the infrastructure.[5].
Location
The Roman bridge of Alcántara is located about 400 m north of the town of the same name, on the road that leads to Portugal, crossing the path over the Tagus River. Formerly it was part of the road that communicated with the Portuguese north, linking the intermediate area of Beira Alta with two important arteries, the Silver road and the Lisbon to Braga road. It was a secondary road in the network of Roman roads in Hispania, which is why the superb bridge was not a public work sponsored by the Roman State, although it was a region well regarded for its metal deposits.[4] Likewise, in Ancient Rome the bridge works () were the responsibility of the nearby and the fact of sharing the costs meant that the infrastructure belonged to the entire region and not to a single municipality. The mission of this infrastructure was, therefore, to connect the area north of the Tagus with the southern region, and there were twelve localities, whose names appear in an inscription, that paid for the works.[7][1].