Puerto_Real

Puerto Real, a seaport of southern Spain, in the province of Cadiz; on the north shore of the inner arm of the Bay of Cadiz and on the Seville-Cadiz railway. Pop. (1900), 10,535. Puerto Real (Port Royal) is the Portus Gaditanus of the Romans, and is probably the most ancient trading-station on the Bay of Cadiz. It owes its modern name to the fact that it was rebuilt in 1488 by Ferdinand and Isabella. The port has good quays, a dry dock of the Spanish Transatlantic Company, connected with their important works, and safe anchorage close to the wharves for the largest steamers. The town has fine squares, and broad, well-built streets, a handsome town-hall, many schools, a bullring, several convents, and a 16th-century Gothic parish church, with three naves and a remarkable atrium. There is an active trade in wine and oils; other industries are the construction and repairing of ships, and the production of salt.