The Puerta del Puente is the Renaissance gate that links the city with the Roman Bridge, in Plaza del Triunfo. It marks the spot where the road south out of Córdoba once began. Treat it as a landmark to walk through rather than a stop with a ticket desk: the official tourism page lists its visiting times as temporarily closed.
What the gate is
The gate stands on the site of earlier Roman gates, linking the city with the Roman bridge and the Via Augusta. It began as part of the city walls. After the Christian conquest it became a gateway known as the Algeciras Gate, where the road leading south out of Córdoba started. Spain.info lists the gate beside the Mezquita-Catedral as rebuilt in the 16th century. It is one of three medieval gates of the wall still standing, alongside the Puerta de Almodóvar.
The look you see today is Renaissance. Hernán Ruiz III redesigned the gate in the 16th century to mark the visit of Philip II, giving it the grand, monumental style that survives. Sources disagree on the construction years, so none is given here. The full building story, with its stalled works and swollen budget, is in Puerta del Puente Córdoba: The Gate and What It Replaced.
Check the interior before you plan around it
The official tourism page lists visiting times as temporarily closed and publishes no permanent hours or price. Ask at the city's visitor information before counting on the Exhibition Room or the balcony.
What to look at
The façade is made up of three sections, with fluted columns at each end and a central opening topped with a lintel and a curved pediment. Look for all three sections, and for the fluted columns at each end.
The setting has been tidied. At the turn of the 20th century the surrounding buildings were cleared away and the ground was lowered to restore the gate to its original height. Wikipedia adds that it was rebuilt in 1928 as a memorial gate, repeating on the inner side the forms of the outer side.
The San Rafael triumph beside it
Near the gate stands the most elaborate of Córdoba's Triunfos de San Rafael, built in the 17th century by Miguel de Verdiguer. A San Rafael statue of 1651 is set into a parapet on the Roman Bridge, placed to bless everyone who passes through the Puerta del Puente.
