Back in Lugo, we can see the Roman Bridge, which has been modified during the course of time. It gives name to the place where it is situated -Barrio del Puente. A long time ago it was the main entrance to the city and one had to pay toll to cross it.
In the surroundings, we find the Spa (Balneario) with the Roman Baths. In the middle of the 16th century, they were considered the Oldest Baths and Building in Spain.
Today like yesterday (two thousand years ago) water is source of life on the banks of the River Miño, in Lugo.
We enter Lugo through the old Roman Road, which may have been deeply modified in the Middle Ages and today is just a memory.
Now we get to the Roman Wall, which is the only one that preserves almost the whole of its original circuit. The Wall is about 2.140 metres long and between 10 or 15 metres high and surrounds the whole old city giving it that strong character that made Lamas Carvajal say:
Ten unha Antiga, Forte, Muralla,

que esta agardando que unha batalla

os seus nemigos lle veñen dar...
We walk round the Wall following two possible itineraries. Walking round the ring road (ronda de la muralla) we watch its majestic view and walking along the upper part of the wall, called adarve (the old ring road where soldiers were on guard) we watch, like in the low-level flight of a bird, an unknown Lugo.
The Wall had 85 round turrets although nowadays 72 are preserved. There are also ten gates, of which five are Roman and five from the 19th and 20th centuries, five staircases and a ramp to climb up onto the wall.
We start from Santiago Gate, the old Wicket Gate, opposite the Cathedral. It had a wicket, bolts, drawbridge and a small fort until well on into the 19th century...
On the inside, we find the modern late 19th-century ramp that replaced an older one, the Bishop coat of arms and an image of St James in Clavijo. This was the only gate that was opened in the city during the period of serious diseases.
Along the Wall there are benches that were built in the last 18th century so that the people of Lugo could comfortably sun themselves. In the upper part of the Wall, we can see the remains of the old staircases that led to the upper part of the fortress.
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