Walk to the statue of St Raphael halfway across the bridge and turn around. From here you get the finest view of Córdoba: the Mosque-Cathedral, the Bridge Gate and the Albolafia waterwheel, reflected in the Guadalquivir.

1Really Roman?

This was the city’s only bridge for some two thousand years, until the San Rafael bridge was built in 1953. Its origin is usually placed in the time of Augustus, when Corduba grew towards the river, and the Via Augusta probably crossed it. But the Guadalquivir’s floods have wrecked it so many times that little of the Roman work remains: around the year 720 the governor al-Samh was already rebuilding it, and several of its pointed arches are medieval. It is about 331 metres long and has 16 arches.

The statue of St Raphael dates from 1651, by Bernabé Gómez del Río, and is the oldest triumph in the city. The bridge has been pedestrian-only since 2004.

In 2014 scenes for the fifth season of Game of Thrones were filmed here: the bridge played the Long Bridge of Volantis.

2The Calahorra

On the far side, the Calahorra Tower guarded the southern entrance. It is of Islamic origin, and Henry II strengthened it in the fourteenth century. Today it houses a museum devoted to al-Andalus; visits usually require a ticket.

3What to look for

  • The cone-shaped cutwaters that split the current.
  • St Raphael on the parapet, with candles at his feet.
  • The Albolafia waterwheel, downstream.
The Calahorra Tower, a crenellated stone fortress at the end of the Roman Bridge
The Calahorra Tower, which guarded the southern entrance to the bridge.

Documented

A bridge of Roman origin, heavily rebuilt, with repairs recorded around the year 720; pedestrian-only since 2004. The statue of St Raphael dates from 1651.

Sources and credits

Junta de Andalucía, Digital Guide to the Cultural Heritage of Andalusia (IAPH), entry on the Puente Romano; Carlos Fernández Casado, Historia del puente en España: puentes romanos (CSIC, 1980); Córdoba Tourist Board (turismodecordoba.org).

Photos:

  • View along the Roman Bridge of Córdoba over the Guadalquivir, with walkers and the Mosque-Cathedral in the distance: Benjamin Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0.
  • The Calahorra Tower, a crenellated stone fortress at the end of the Roman Bridge: Daniel Villafruela, CC BY-SA 3.0.

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