La Puente

0, Torres

In 1539, Carlos V's secretary, Francisco de los Cobos, from Ubeta, acquired the towns of Canena and Torres, alienated by the Crown to the Military Orders of Santiago and Calatrava. With this double purchase, Cobos rounded off his assets; Years before, in 1537 he also took over the town of Sabiote, the head of his vast estate, completed with the acquisition of Jimena and Recena by his wife, María de Mendoza.

Cobos not only had territorial jurisdiction over these populations, but also exercised strong control over all of them by their Councils and their inhabitants.

In Torres, apart from certain actions to preserve the medieval castle, the Council projected various works throughout the 16th century, such as the chapter houses, the granary, the reform of the parochial temple and a bridge, absolutely necessary to unite the town with the Fuenmayor spot, where the Secretary Cobos mills were located, through which the neighbors had to pass. In the town, the only one who had the privilege to build mills was Cobos and his wife, Doña María de Mendoza. Their control ensured a secure income, therefore it was absolutely necessary to keep the bridge in good condition.

When Cobos was dead, Mrs. María de Mendoza, through her butler Bartolomé Ximénez, ordered the Council to build a new bridge, as the old one was destroyed by a strong storm. The person in charge of carrying out the project was Andrés de Vandelvira, an architect at the service of the Cobos family. According to María José Sánchez Lozano, the works began in 1561, and the following year the Council agreed that all that remained to be built should be done according to Andrés de Vandelvira's plan: “(...) I have seen what is started to do the work of the bridge that is to be done in the river of the said town for the passage of the bread mills of his lordship (...) I command that all that remains to be made of said bridge is do for the trace given by Andrés de Vandelvira (...). The bridge, which is preserved today, although it has been renovated, is made of stone and has a single, rather high, semicircular eye, since the ravine on which it stands is very deep in this area.

Vandelvira draws a bridge without great pretensions, without decorative accessories, in which security and permanence in time have to prevail over other aspects. Vandelvira will be an experienced bridge builder, sometimes simple like this one in Torres, others of great architectural and engineering monumentality, such as those built over the Guadalmena, Guadalimar (Ariza) and Guadalquivir (Mazuecos) river beds.