BRIDGES
To cross over the many waterways in its environment, Ledesma has several bridges.
Some of them are worth a visit:
Although it seems quite possible that it already existed in Roman days, it was in the 15th century, in times of Beltrán de la Cueva, when this bridge was built over the River Tormes and with similar features as those that can be seen today.
The two central pointed arches are part of the original bridge. The rounded arches at either end could date from the renovation carried out in the mid-16th century. The remaining arch, blown away by the French during the Independence War, was rebuilt in 1816 by order of the Count of Ledesma, with the purpose of being able to charge the “pontazgo”, a tax on the merchandise that crossed the bridge and which was his prerogative until 1909, when the bridge became public property.
On one end of the bridge, probably where the San Lázaro chapel once stood, nowadays there is the chapel of Nuestra Señora del Carmen, the town’s patron saint.
Located beside the medieval bridge and built during a period of great urban growth, this bridge was also a new, modern road that improved the access to Ledesma. To build it, however, it was necessary to tear down part of the city walls.
Although the project to build it was approved back in 1934, the start of the Civil War prevented the beginning of the works, and it was only erected years after, to be opened on the 24th of July, 1954.
This bridge, made from concrete mixed with large rocks, features a great central arch with a 49 m span, a 20 m sag and a width of 8 m. The thickness of the arch is 4 m at the base and 1.80 m at the key. There are three pilasters set over either side of the arch, which make up four narrow arches. The bridge reaches both sides by means of two arches, each one of them with a 10 m span, on either side of the main arch and separated from it by thick pillars.
This bridge, listed as a Site of Cultural Interest in the Historic-Artistic Monument category, along with the remains of the Roman road on either end of it, is considered by the experts to have Roman origins, although some think that very little is left from those times, possibly just the location and the foundations that hold it up.
Built on the Cañedo riverside, it features five barrel vault, semi-circular arches, of uneven sizes and built in granite, with cutwaters on the side of the current and two reinforcements at the back. The bridge has been modified and rebuilt several times throughout history, although its scarce use and the fact that the road leading to it was not suitable for motor vehicles has helped to preserve some of its original features.
The origin of its name is unknown, it may well refer to the state of disrepair it probably suffered at some point (“mocho” is Spanish for “truncated” or “broken”).
This bridge, of possible Roman origin and located on the Fuentes Luengas riverside, is accessible by the road going towards the west, also known as “vereda de Peñalvo” and which used to join Ledesma with the village of Campo de Ledesma. The route starts on the outskirts of the town, where the SA 302 road that connects Ledesma and Trabanca begins, and initially it runs parallel to the Almendra road.
The bridge is built in granite, organised in rows. It features three semi-circular arches of varying span and height, of which the largest are the central one and the one on the Ledesma side. There are also three cutwaters facing the current and one on the back, as reinforcement. Its dimensions are 51 m long and 3.75 m wide. It can still be crossed and in the area that surrounds it there are many fragments of tiles and tegula (roofing tiles)