Puente Nuevo bridge

The Puente Nuevo is the newest and largest of three bridges that span the 120-metre-deep (390 ft) chasm that carries the Guadalevín River and divides the city of Ronda, in southern Spain. The architect was José Martin de Aldehuela, who died in Málaga in 1802. The chief builder was Juan Antonio Díaz Machuca.

The construction of the newest bridge (the one that stands today) was started in 1759 and took 34 years to build.[1] There is a chamber above the central arch that was used for a variety of purposes, including as a prison. During the 1936-1939 civil war both sides allegedly used the prison as a torture chamber for captured opponents, killing some by throwing them from the windows to the rocks at the bottom of the El Tajo gorge. The chamber is entered through a square building that was once the guard-house. It now contains an exhibition describing the bridge’s history and construction.

Construction of the previous bridge started in 1735, this was the first attempt to span the gorge at this height and was completed by the architects Jose Garcia and Juan Camacho using a single arch design. Unfortunately, this bridge was quickly and poorly built and in 1741 the entire bridge collapsed resulting in the death of 50 people.