The river Baetis gave its name to the Roman province of Baetica, a province that more or less coincided with present-day Andalusia. In 27 BC, Emperor Augustus named Cordoba the capital of Beatica. It was then in the time of Augustus that it was decided to build a bridge that “communicated” with Rome, since the Via Augusta, the longest Roman road in Hispania, would pass through it and connect the area with the empire’s capital. Given its good location and infrastructure, it wasn’t by chance that the Arabs chose Cordoba as the capital of Al-Andalus. In fact, they took it upon themselves to repair the bridge, first around 720 and then in the time of Caliph Al-Hakam II, in 971. After the Christian conquest the bridge was damaged and new renovations were made. This bridge really has witnessed the passage of all civilizations in the history of Cordoba!