# Segura Bridge

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{{Infobox bridge
|bridge_name      = Segura Bridge
|native_name      = Ponte de Segura
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|locale           = *[Castelo Branco District](/source/Castelo_Branco_District), {{flag|Portugal}}. 
*[Alcántara](/source/Alc%C3%A1ntara), {{flag|Spain}}
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'''Segura Bridge''' is a [Roman bridge](/source/Roman_bridge) connecting Segura, in [Idanha-a-Nova](/source/Idanha-a-Nova), Portugal, to the Spanish municipality of [Alcántara](/source/Alc%C3%A1ntara). The bridge was built over the [Erges river](/source/Erges), a tributary of the [Tagus](/source/Tagus). It has five [arches](/source/Arch_bridge); only two of the original Roman arches, the ones closer to both river banks, survive to this day,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Fuentes, Manuel Durán |year=1996 |title=Puentes romanos peninsulares: tipología y construcción |publisher=Centro de Estudios y Experimentación de Obras Públicas, CEDEX |language=es|url=http://www.traianvs.net/textos/puentes03.htm }}</ref> with the rest being added during reconstructions in the 16th and 19th centuries.{{sfn|Mantas|2019|p=273}} The stonemason work done during the 1571 reconstruction of two of the arches is considered to be "barely distinguishable" from the original.{{sfn|Fuentes|2003|p=779}}

==Location==

Located on the border between Spain and Portugal, on the Spanish side the bridge is situated within the municipality of [Alcántara](/source/Alc%C3%A1ntara) in the [province of Cáceres](/source/province_of_C%C3%A1ceres). It can be reached via the regional road EX-207 from the nearby town of [Piedras Albas](/source/Piedras_Albas). On the Portuguese side, it connects to a local road leading to the town of Segura, from which the bridge takes its name.

==Construction and Features==

The bridge was built in the Roman province of [Lusitania](/source/Lusitania) to extend the [Roman road](/source/Roman_roads) that connected ''Norba Caesarina'', along the [Vía de la Plata](/source/V%C3%ADa_de_la_Plata), with the ''civitas Egitania'' ([Idanha-a-Velha](/source/Idanha-a-Velha), Portugal) and Bracara Augusta ([Braga](/source/Braga), Portugal). Its purpose was to span the Erjas River, whose course delineates the border between Spain and Portugal. Thus, the bridge served as an international crossing point between the two countries.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Archived copy | url=http://aliso.pntic.mec.es/agalle17/latin/exrom/Segura.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100102013654/http://aliso.pntic.mec.es/agalle17/latin/exrom/Segura.pdf | archive-date=2010-01-02}}</ref>

The bridge was constructed over the gorge created by the Erjas river in the local [slate](/source/slate). It comprises five arches with barrel vaults; the central arch spans 10.5 m, which is larger than the 7.5 m of the four side arches. Its structure is made of ashlar masonry with cushioned pink granite blocks, measuring 2.85 to 3 m in section. The two arches on the edges are original Roman constructions, as are all the piers, while the other three arches have been rebuilt during the Middle Ages and the Modern Age. The bridge features triangular section cutwaters up to a height of 1.20 m from the piers.<ref>Fuentes 2003, p. 741.</ref>

The bridge's state of preservation is good, and it remains in use. However, in 2007, there was some controversy over actions taken on the footings and cutwaters of the piers, which were covered with reinforced concrete.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.hoy.es/prensa/20070919/regional/pilares-espanoles-puente-romano_20070919.html|title= Los pilares españoles del puente romano de Segura también son tapados con cemento|last= Lorenzo|first= Sergio|date= September 19, 2007|website= www.hoy.es|publisher= Diario Hoy|access-date= June 16, 2024|archive-date= January 25, 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210125105737/https://www.hoy.es/prensa/20070919/regional/pilares-espanoles-puente-romano_20070919.html|url-status= bot: unknown}}</ref>

==See also==
* [List of Roman bridges](/source/List_of_Roman_bridges)
* [List of bridges in Spain](/source/List_of_bridges_in_Spain)
* [List of bridges in Portugal](/source/List_of_bridges_in_Portugal)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite journal |last=Fuentes |first=Manuel Durán |year=2003 |title=An endeavour to identify Roman bridges built in former Hispania |publisher=Instituto Juan de Herrera |pages=775–786|url=http://www.sedhc.es/biblioteca/actas/CIHC1_077_Dur__n%20M.pdf }}
*{{cite book|editor-last=Carrasco Serrano |editor-first=Gregorio|date=2016|title=Vías de comunicación romanas en Castilla-La Mancha|chapter=Puentes Romanos en Castilla-La Mancha: Problemas en Torno a Su Identificación|last=Fuentes |first=Manuel Durán|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=LzRyDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA282 |language=es|publisher=[University of Castilla–La Mancha](/source/University_of_Castilla%E2%80%93La_Mancha)|isbn=978-84-9044-197-8|via=[Google Books](/source/Google_Books)}}
*{{cite journal |last=Mantas |first=Vasco Gil |title=Da Capital da Lusitânia a Bracara Augusta Pela Serra da Estrela |year=2019 |journal=Conímbriga |volume=58 |pages=255–300|doi=10.14195/1647-8657_58_8 |language=pt|url=https://impactum-journals.uc.pt/conimbriga/article/view/7320 |doi-access=free}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal |author=Gimeno Pascual, Helena |year=1997 |title=Obras de reedificación del puente de Segura sobre el rio Eljas en el siglo XVI |journal=Conímbriga |volume=36 |pages=191–200|doi= 10.14195/1647-8657_36_12|language=es|url=https://digitalis-dsp.uc.pt/bitstream/10316.2/45437/1/Obras_de_reedificacion_del_puente.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428034832/https://digitalis-dsp.uc.pt/bitstream/10316.2/45437/1/Obras_de_reedificacion_del_puente.pdf |archive-date=2019-04-28 |doi-access=free }}
*{{cite journal |author1=Pérez, Jesús Acero|author2= Pizzo, Antonio |year=2011 |title=Puentes romanos de Lusitania: arte y técnica |publisher=[Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas](/source/Consejo_Superior_de_Investigaciones_Cient%C3%ADficas) |pages=715–725 |language=es|url=https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/138115/4/puenteslusitania.pdf }}

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Category:Bridges in Extremadura
Category:Bridges in Portugal
Category:Bridges in Castelo Branco District
Segura
Segura
Category:Stone bridges in Spain

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Segura Bridge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segura_Bridge) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segura_Bridge?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.