Roman Bridge of Chaves

Trajan's Bridge is a Roman bridge in the civil parish of Santa Maria Maior, in the municipality of Chaves in the Portuguese central subregion of Alto Trás-os-Montes.HistoryIn 79 B.C., the column known as the Padrão dos Povos was issued by King D. Manuel and included a representation of the bridge in its coat-of-arms.In 1548, Spanish Cardinal Luís de Castro, while travelling to Santiago de Compostela, passed through Chaves. While there he copied the inscription on the column that he found in the vegetable gardens of Simão Guedes. Similarly, in 1572, Ambróis de Morales while traveling between the Spanish kingdoms encountered a column opposite the bridge, at the home of João Guedes (likely son or grandson of Simão Guedes) and, also, copied the inscription of the column.