Pont Vell, Santa Eulària des Riu

Pont Vell is the ancient bridge which crosses the Riu de Santa Eulària, the only river on the Spanish island of Ibiza. The bridge stands next to the modern road bridge on the western approach to the town of Santa Eulària des Riu. Today the bridges is only used as a footbridge with all other traffic restricted to the adjacent modern bridge.HistoryPont Vell was an important strategic crossing and was once the only way into Santa Eulària from the west. Its origins are considered to be Roman. The Rome Empire had made Ibiza a Federatae Civitae. The island was never conquered by the Romans and during a gradual period of Romanization the island saw an economic golden age which lasted from approximately 25 BC and AD 75. It is thought that it was during this period the first bridge was built by the Romans to access the north east Canton of the island. The bridge that stands today is probably built on the foundations of the Roman bridge. It has been estimated that this bridge was probably built in the sixteenth or seventeenth century.