The foundation of the city of Valencia was created by the Romans on an island formed by the River Turia, strategically located between Carthago Nova (Cartagena) and Tarraco (Tarragona), and is directly connected to the sea. This raises the question of how the elements of access to the city came about and how the river and its bridges might have affected its evolution. This article delves into the study of the origins of the city, with a time frame that extends into the 11th century, the time at which an event took place that confirms one of the major changes in the city’s urban morphology: when it stopped being an island. The intrinsic relationship that exists between bridges and main communication routes as fundamental elements to the access of an island is the driving force behind this article, which is based on research, until now undone, on the existence and construction of the first bridges in the city of Valencia and their influence on the city’s subsequent development. This paper will start by studying the founding and location of this city and will then analyze the communication routes existing at the time. It will also study the communication routes that were created later and how all of them were forced to cross a fluvial accident, the River Turia. For this purpose, the number of bridges built until the city ceased to be an island have been identified, and analyses of their typology, location and who was responsible for them has been carried out to study how they may have affected the normal flow and evolution of the riverbed and their possible influence on the city’s development.

This study offers a novel perspective on the role of bridges as agents of urban transformation by examining their influence on the morphological development of Valencia (Spain) from the 13th century to the catastrophic flood of 1957. Traditionally viewed as mere connective infrastructure, bridges are reframed here as key structuring elements that shaped urban expansion, resilience strategies, and socio-spatial dynamics. Through an innovative classification based on stages of bridges, the research integrates historical cartography, cadastral data, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to trace how successive waves of bridge construction aligned with distinct socio-political, environmental, and technological contexts. The study demonstrates that bridge development not only facilitated territorial connectivity but also directed urban growth patterns, enabled functional zoning, and responded adaptively to flood risk and demographic pressure. The case of Valencia is particularly significant in light of contemporary challenges in climate adaptation and sustainable urban planning. By unveiling bridges as morphological and functional drivers of urban form, this research offers transferable insights for cities worldwide grappling with the legacy of riverine geographies and the pressures of resilient transformation.

La ciudad de Valencia desde sus orígenes, ha sufrido relevantes acontecimientos que han transformado su fisionomía. Como ciudad vinculada a un cauce fluvial, es necesario conocer la relación existente entre los puentes del río Turia y la transformación morfológica, social y de crecimiento urbano que ha experimentado a lo largo de su historia. Los hechos acaecidos en la Riada de 1957 tuvieron como consecuencia la ejecución del Plan Sur, lo que supuso un hito para la ciudad al sufrir una de sus mayores metamorfosis. El desvío del cauce del río por los terrenos del sur generó, de manera involuntaria, una barrera frente a la expansión urbana por su área meridional que a día de hoy, sigue pendiente de colmatar. La obra hidráulica proyectada, estaría vinculada a la construcción de puentes, elementos indispensables en el trazado de vías de comunicación especialmente con el sur de la Comunidad, así como potenciales mecanismos de desarrollo urbano debido a su función comunicativa. En este documento, se analiza la denominada “Cuarta etapa de puentes”, englobada en las “Etapas de puentes” que enmarcan la aparición de este tipo de estructuras a lo largo de la historia en la ciudad de Valencia y su influencia, tanto en la propia génesis de la urbe como en su posterior desarrollo urbano. Una etapa que comprende los puentes construidos en el nuevo cauce y en la que se analiza, como en etapas anteriores, la relevancia de éstos en la generación de nuevas vías de enlace y la tipología de desarrollo urbano que se ha producido tras la nueva barrera hidráulica.