3-053-753 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Sketches in Spain: the Old Bridge, Cordova, 1873. 'The ancient city of Cordova, which was the birthplace of Lucan and Seneca, in Roman times; of the Arabic philosopher Averroes, under the Moorish rule in Southern Spain, and of the poet Gongora, the famous warrior Gonzalo, and of the Jesuitical casuist Sanchez, in later ages of Spanish history, stands on the banks of the Guadalquiver. The heraldic emblem of this city is "a bridge over water," referring to that old structure which was originally founded here, it is supposed, by order of a Roman proconsul, but the still existing irregular arches of which were built, in the eighth century, by the Arab governor As-samh, when Cordova was an appendage of the Khalifate of Damascus. Below this bridge are some picturesque mill buildings, and a pleasant copse or grove. The patient fisherman is apt to he found here plying his artful craft with several rods and lines at once, which he has fixed upon the river bank, leaving the hooks baited near the bottom of the stream, and keeping a steady eye upon all the floats, so as to be prompt to strike and secure the finny prey whenever a bite is perceived'. From "Illustrated London News", 1873.