Translation of building inscription regarding architect of Alcantara Bridge

Question

The Alcantara Bridge in the Extremadura region of Spain is one of the oldest structures extant whose architect is known by name. It spans the Tagus River near the modern-day border of Spain and Portugal. Its construction, during the reign of emperor Trajan, was led by Gaius Julius Lacer, who is thought to have been a military engineer. The work was completed in 106 AD.

There is a small temple next to the bridge which serves as the final resting place of the architect. The inscription on this building reads in part:

pontem perpetui mansurum in saecula mundi / fecit divina nobilis arte Lacer

On the internet I can find various translations, many of which seem questionable if not downright unusable. See the article on the bridge in the English Wikipedia that I linked above for an example of the latter. I took five years of Latin in high school, but that was forty years ago, so my knowledge of Latin is extremely rusty. My best efforts at translating the above have resulted in this:

"The renowned Lacer, with divine art, built this bridge to persist throughout the ages of the world"

I used the Oxford Latin Dictionary for help with vocabulary, but the recognition of grammatical constructs is often crucial for the correct translation of Latin, and I am afraid I might have fallen short on that account. I am looking for corrections and / or improvements to the translation here.

Answer 1

I think your translation is spot on. The way I read it, I would parse the words like so:

"The famous Lacer (nobilis Lacer) with divine art (divina arte) made the bridge (fecit pontem) to last into the ages (mansurum in saecula) of the everlasting world (perpetui mundi)."

EDIT May 2023

So looking back, I see another possible parsing of these same words, which seems to be at least as likely as the one above:

"Lacer (Lacer), famous for divine art (divina nobilis arte), made the bridge (fecit pontem) to last into the ages (mansurum in saecula) of the everlasting world (perpetui mundi)."

Also note that perpetui mundi, which I have translated as modifying saecula, might just as easily be made to modify divina arte. So:

"Lacer (Lacer), famous for divine art (divina nobilis arte) of the perpetual world (perpetui mundi) made the bridge (fecit pontem) to last into the ages (mansurum in saecula)".

I like this last parsing the best, because it contrasts divine art with the practical art of bridge-building, and because even though the subject of divine art is the perpetuus mundus, the art of the bridge may last, though not perpetuus, yet still in saecula, for a very long time.