Puentes de España

Besalú Bridge is located in the medieval village of the same name in the province of Gerona. It began to be built in the 11th century to save the river Fluvia and establish communications between the town and the land on the other side of the river. It consists of seven pointed arches spread over 145 meters forming an oblique angle at the centre which divides it into two sections. On the side that gives access to the city stands a defensive tower built in the mid 14th century where watch was kept and travellers and merchants passing through were obliged to pay a toll. In the centre of the bridge a second defensive tower was built over a pronounced oblique angle, substantially higher than the first one and opened at the bottom by a pointed arch.

The Roman bridge is five meters wide and over the centuries it has witnessed floods, flash floods and devastating conflicts having to be reformed in the 14th and 17th centuries. During the Spanish Civil War it was partially blown up and in the 1960s it was completely rebuilt following the original structure and aesthetics. In recent times a parallel concrete bridge has been built for traffic preserving the historic medieval bridge for pedestrians. Besalú is located in the region of La Garrotxa, and is one of the main tourist towns in the province of Gerona in which art and history blend giving way to an attractive historic centre. The porticoed streets, the bridge, the Jewish baths and Romanesque churches form a top medieval compound. In 1966 it was declared a "national artistic and historical town".

The stamp dedicated to the Bridge of Los Santos sobre la Ría de Ribadeo links the towns of Ribadeo (Lugo) and Castropol (Asturias) and is a highlight of civil engineering. Over the vast estuary of Ribadeo was built, from 1983 to 1987, the Bridge of dos Santos which communicates Asturias and Galicia and overcame the gap separating these two regions thus facilitating communications between both sides.

The bridge is 600 meters long and was initially 12 meters wide. From 2007 to 2008 it was widened in 24.60 meters converting it to four lanes and two sidewalks to allow for the Cantabrian motorway (A-8) to pass through it. It is a trabeated bridge made of reinforced concrete, steel and wood which can carry a weight of over 1,200 tons.The bridge is named after the chapels on either side of the river: San Román nas Figueiras in Castropol, and San Miguel, in Ribadeo. Before the building of the bridge, communications between both sides were by boat or making a detour along the old road between Vegadeo and Porto. The issue is a one stamp souvenir sheet featuring an aerial view of the estuary and the town of Ribadeo. In the stamp is depicted the modern bridge of Los Santos and the town of Ribadeo

Stamp Issue: 2013.05.04