A new footbridge now graces the old university town of Coimbra in central Portugal. Spanning the slow-flowing river Mondego, it draws the eye, especially when the sunlight plays on the coloured glass in the railings. On the bridge itself the coloured reflections enliven the plain wooden flooring. The colours come from the angled glass panels set in a seemingly irregular pattern in the slim steel railing that zigzags down the sides the walkway. Half way along the bridge broadens out around a viewing platform, also popular as a meeting place. Because the two halves are offset against each other, it looks from the beginning of the bridge as if they won’t actually meet in the middle – also an allusion to a famous and tragic 14th-century love story between King Pedro and Ines that is told in Coimbra to this day.