Puente Romano

The Puente Romano stretches across the Tormes River at the southern edge of Salamanca's old town and ranks among the best-preserved Roman bridges on the Iberian Peninsula. Originally constructed between 27 BCE and 79 CE, it served as a key crossing on the Vía de la Plata, the ancient Roman road linking Mérida to Astorga in the northwest. Of its original 26 arches, the southern 15 still preserve Roman granite masonry, while the northern section was rebuilt in various medieval phases following flood and war damage. A small stone carving of a boar's head stands at the northern bridgehead — an Iberian votive sculpture whose precise origins remain debated among archaeologists. Today the bridge carries pedestrians and pilgrims walking the Vía de la Plata Camino route, offering a striking vantage point over the Tormes and the honey-coloured skyline of Salamanca's UNESCO-listed old city.