Roman Bridge, Andalucia, Spain

5Mairwen1 5:00 PM Dec 17, 2020

Games of Thrones – the Long Bridge of Volantis
This ancient Roman bridge is at its most beautiful in the early evening as the sunlight fades from the day. We headed there for a pre-dinner stroll. It's perfect for this because it’s a long, wide, paved pedestrian bridge. Other people were out and about, doing the same thing, a couple of buskers were set up along the bridge and as it got darker, the bridge’s soft lights reflected across the water. It really was as pretty as it sounds. Looking back towards the Mezquita, you get the best views over the old town. For around 2000 years, this was the only bridge spanning the Guadalquivir River into Cordoba. Unbelievably it took until 1950 for a second bridge to be built. The Romans built it in the 1st century but most of what you see are Moorish additions, added in the 8th century. It has been restored repeatedly over the centuries but the 14th and 15th arches are still original. There are several things worth noticing: 1) Game of Thrones uses this as the Long Bridge of Volantis in series 5 (although don't expect to see all the buildings and turrets on it - they were special effects). 2) Torre de la Calahorra – this is the medieval defensive tower on the south side. It has a museum inside. 3) The Archangel Raphael – this is the statue you see in the middle of the bridge, guarding the city. In 1649, the black plague swept through Cordoba and people looked to Raphael to protect and save them. Deaths were relatively low and in gratitude (and maybe as future insurance), they placed his statue here in 1651. They doubled up on insurance by placing more Raphael statues at the Mezquita and the towering one beside the Puerta Ponte. We wondered about the seemingly random fish he’s holding. Apparently it’s a symbol of his healing powers, from a biblical story when he cured Tobit’s blindness by rubbing a fish gallbladder into the old man’s eyes. 4) Mills (Molinos) – the old structures that you see sticking out of the middle of the waterway on are the remains of several medieval mills (molinos).

4WanderingOttersons 5:00 PM Mar 2, 2023

Walk through history
How many opportunities do you get to walk across a bridge built by the Romans more than 2000 years ago. To be fair, the bottom of the structure still dates from that time but much of the upper structure was redone by the Moors in the 10th century with some repairs and modifications since. But still......let’s just call it the Roman Bridge. Just a simple stroll both ways on the bridge and then a look from the riverside on the south side gives you a great perspective of the bridge and the city on the other side.