Mocha Bridge, Valdemaqueda, Roman stone bridge in Valdemaqueda, Spain.
Mocha Bridge is a stone structure crossing the Cofio River, built with four semicircular vaults supported by three triangular piers on the upstream side. The construction spans across the river valley using a classic design common to bridges from this region.
There is no consensus on the date of construction. Tradition calls it Roman, but it is most likely late medieval or pre-Renaissance; some theories place it in the 16th century, linked to works around the monastery of El Escorial, possibly to carry timber there. Its unmistakably medieval layout may point to the Christian repopulation after the Reconquest. The Comunidad de Madrid completed a full restoration in summer 2013.
Locals call it Puente de los Cinco Ojos, though it actually has four semicircular arches and two flat-slab openings. Tradition labels it a Roman bridge, but its unmistakably medieval layout and the asinine-back profile of its arches point to a late-medieval or pre-Renaissance origin.
Mocha Bridge stands about 3 km from the centre of Valdemaqueda, downstream of the Cofio River. The deck is roughly 40 m long and built entirely of granite, with large ashlars at the base and rubble masonry above. The 2013 restoration by the Community of Madrid consolidated the structure; the approach paths are unpaved, so wear sturdy footwear after rain.
Despite the name Five Eyes, the bridge has four semicircular arches plus two flat-slab openings at each end. Upstream, the three central piers carry triangular cutwaters topped with pyramidal caps, built to resist Cofio floods; the leftmost cutwater rises to the deck. The deck, about 40 m long, is paved with stone slabs.
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