The “Roman Bridge” of Cangas de Onís (Asturias, Spain) and the intervention of Luis Menéndez-Pidal (1940-1942): the recovery of the river landscape through the conservation of the bridge

Abstract

The “Roman bridge” of Cangas de Onís that has survived to the present day is the result of the important restoration works carried out by the architect Luis Menéndez-Pidal between 1940 and 1942. With these works Menéndez-Pidal managed to restore the bridge, its functionality and image, mantaining the historical alterations that the architect considered valuable and fitting for its conservation. The article analyses the restoration work’s procedure and assesses its final outcome, highlighting the positive impact that this project had in the municipality's landscape by reconciling the river landscape and the territory, . The methodology used in the study is based on three axes: the preliminary historical study, as an auxiliary instrument of the restoration project; the analysis and interpretation, from a contemporary architectural perspective, of the technical documentation developed in these works; and, finally, the study of the bridge itself and its surroundings.