Via de La Plata

Via De La Plata

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 from north to south, connecting Mérida to Astorga, and in extension Seville with the Bay of Biscay, at Gijón. According to folk etymology, although the term Vía de la Plata seems to come from the modern Spanish word for silver, "plata", it actually came from the Arabic word balata, which means "paved", for the road was, like many other Roman roads, paved. In fact, the root of the modern Spanish word "plata" is the Vulgar Latin word "plattus", meaning broad, flat or spread out.

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