The Vía de La Plata (Silver Way) or Ruta de la Plata (Silver Route) is an ancient commercial and pilgrimage path that crosses the west of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

from north to south, connecting Mérida to Astorga. An extended form begins further south in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

and reaches north to the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...

Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality by population in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coa ...

. The path is used by the modern A-66 and AP-66 freeways, as well as by the older N-630 national road.

Name

The term Vía de la Plata is commonly thought to derive from the modern Spanish word for silver, ''plata''. The name actually derives from the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

word ''al-balat'', which means ''cobbled paving'' and described the road as engineered by the Romans. The Silver Route, despite its name, was never a road for the circulation of silver trade. Such denomination is due, as in other occasions, to a popular evolution due to a phonetic confusion. In the Andalusian period, this route was called al-Balat (the paved road), a word very frequent in other areas of Spain and the origin of place names such as Albalat and Albalate. It is possible that this pronunciation led people to transfer the sound to that of the precious metal, and that is why it began to be called the Via de la Plata on an indeterminate date, but before 1504 and 1507, when it was first documented with Christopher Columbus and Antonio de Nebrija, respectively. In the first it appears simply as the Plata and in the second in this form:

Est praeterea eiusdem Lusitanie via nobilissima: Argentea vulgo dicitur. Quod Licinius pontifex primum stravit, deinde Traianus Caesar refecit, et deinceps Aelius Pertinax aliiqui imperatores restituerunt, id quod ex lapidibus intelligitur: quibus millia passuum distinguuntur.

The path is from Emerita Augusta to Castra Caecilia Salmanticam usque, ubi primum in extima pontis parte incipit evanescere, neque ulterius ullum viae illius vestigium cernit. Another hypothesis about the name is that it could have come from a late via Delapidata, even though it poses some problems, such as the absence on this road of real silices or stones, i.e., cobblestones, which were not usual on non-urban roads. To solve this difficulty, a new hypothesis explains the meaning of the last via delapidata as "a road marked with milestones" (from the classical and medieval Latin lapis, "milestone").

Pre-Roman era

The historical origin of this communication route is uncertain. During the protohistoric period, coinciding with the presence of the

Tartessos Tartessos () is, as defined by archaeological discoveries, a historical civilization settled in the southern Iberian Peninsula characterized by its mixture of local Prehistoric Iberia, Paleohispanic and Phoenician traits. It had a writing syste ...

culture in the south of the peninsula, there are reports of the existence of commercial contacts with the Hispanic west thanks to various archaeological discoveries, along a route known by some scholars as the "Via del Estaño", since it is assumed that a large part of this metal would circulate in the peninsula. In the following centuries it continued to be frequented, without its specific name being known, becoming, until the arrival of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, one of the main routes of communication of the Hispanic towns next to the so-called Via Heraclea, which ran through the whole of the Levant, from Cadiz to cross the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

Modern times

The suitability of the route's layout is demonstrated even today. It is used by modern A-66 and AP-66 freeways as well as by older N-630 national road. Some stretches, however, pass through urban areas like Seville, where the Vía de la Plata runs along the

Guadalquivir The Guadalquivir (, also , , ) is the fifth-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula and the second-longest river with its entire length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is the only major navigable river in Spain. Currently it is navigable from Seville ...

. The Vía de la Plata has become increasingly popular as an alternative to the

French Way The French Way (, , ) follows the GR 65 and is the most popular of the routes of the Way of St. James (), the ancient pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. It runs from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port on the French side of th ...

for pilgrims walking, cycling, or riding to

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...

. Large sections are more or less the same as they were two thousand years ago. The official Pilgrim's office publishes statistics regarding pilgrims who got the certificate. In 2024 about 9,000 pilgrims finished the Silver Route. It was the seventh most popular route with 1.8%. Most pilgrims are Spanish (58%), followed by Portuguese (8.3%), Italians (5%) and Germans (3.8%). Most people started in

Ourense Ourense (; ) is a city and the capital of the province of province of Ourense, Ourense, located in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is on the Camino Sanabrés path o ...

(50%), Seville (21%) and

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

(3.8%). 84% did the journey on foot and 14% on a bike. Nine pilgrims travelled on a horse and one in a wheelchair. Most people arrive from this route in Santiago in May and July.

References

External links

Walking La Via de la Plata - a short videoVía de la Plata route websiteGuide to walking the Vía de la PlataLa Vía de la Plata
{{DEFAULTSORT:Via De La Plata Camino de Santiago routes Plata, Via de la Hiking trails in Spain

Name

Pre-Roman era

Modern times

See also

References

External links