Roman Bridge and Sidewalk

There are many traces of Portuguese Romanization. When they arrived on the territory of the Iberian Peninsula, which we now call Portugal, at the end of the 3rd century BC, the Romans always had a strategy of domination and communication. In order to make progress on the land and so that the legions could walk, they built access roads, sidewalks and bridges that connected strategic points in the territory. Murça is home to the great Roman road that connected Astorga to the mouth of the River Douro, crossing the River Tinhela and which, after the bridge they built there, split off on the way to Braga or on the way to the Douro valley. Built over 2,000 years ago by the Romans, it was continually used and repaired, culminating in the presumably old Roman bridge being replaced by another in the second half of the 16th century.