Vía de la Plata Route_English

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“via lata or balata; the cobbled path“

Introduction

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vía de la plata route

The ancient Via Lata, "wide path" in Latin, or Balata, "road" in Arabic, that linked Emerita Augusta (Mérida) with Asturica Augusta (Astorga), is today one of the most important challenges for hikers from all over the world. Its Cáceres section runs through some of the most important places of the province: Alcuéscar and its Santa Lucía del Trampal basilica, the monumental city of Cáceres, Galisteo, Archaeological site of Cáparra or the Ambroz Valley are some of them.

notas

Did you know that...?

The "Alba-Plata" project emerged in 1996 with the aim of promoting the ecological, cultural, architectural and ethnographic wealth of Vía de la Plata in Extremadura. One of its important undertaking Cáceres was the signalling and division of the road into 17 stages of about 20 km, along with more than 500 granite milestones that guide the traveller about the condition of the track through a system of colours.

Santa Lucía del Trampal (Alcuéscar)

Mayoralgo Castle (Aldea del Cano)

Our tour of Vía de la Plata (The Silver Route) begins in the south of the province of Cáceres at the Cornalvo Natural Park. We will go along its western border until we reach Alcuéscar; here we can find the first hostel (the peculiarity of this hostel is that it is joined to an old bull ring) and the Visigoth basilica of Santa Lucía del Trampal, located 3 km from the town.

The Vía de la Plata, whose origins date back to the 2nd-century B.C., was one of the vital component of the Roman road network. The paved road with continuous transit of goods, troops, traders and travellers, witnessed the coming up of new infrastructure in the Cáceres province such as theatres, temples, aqueducts, baths, bridges or fortifications; apart from serving as a channel to spread the Roman culture, its language and lifestyle.

Ro m e

Vía de la Plata Interpretation Centre Baños de Montemayor Tel. 927 488 048 http://viaplata.gobex.es/ Cáparra Roman Town and Interpretation Centre Tel. 927 199 485

We continue walking through the meadows and towns such as Casas de don Antonio or Aldea del Cano, watching old remains of the route like the Mayoralgo castle or the Garabato castle, bridges and reused milestones as that of a postman, with a hollow as if mail is delivered or taken.

Sign posts 26

Vía de la Plata Route

We approach Cáceres, a World Heritage City (see city tour in this guide, page 10); mansio Castris Caecilis was located in its vicinity, probably in the so-called Old Cáceres, where there is an archaeological site interpretation centre. Toward the north the road runs in the direction of Casar de Cáceres; there the Route has left its mark in calle Larga, which follows the path of the old road.

Arch of Cáparra

Cá pa rr a

The municipium Flavium Caparens was built in the 1st-century AD; being a strategic point of the route it was converted into a Roman municipality, with an amphitheatre, forum and baths. Of the remains an impressive quadrafrons arch stands out, under which old road passes.

The tour continues near Garrovillas de Alconétar and passes through the towns of Cañaveral and Grimaldo; we will see the tower of Floripes cropping up from the reservoir water of Tagus river, which led to the relocation of the Alconétar Roman bridge from its original location and finally arriving at the historic ensemble of Galisteo.

Did you know that...?

The Roman roads employed "kilometre points" to measure distances: mostly cylindrical with up to 2 m heights, milestones amounted to a Roman mile; i.e.

1481 m.

The Postman’s Milestone

Main sights...

The Cáparra Roman Town Interpretation Centre; building next to the archaeological site and start of route before you begin the visit. It has an audiovisual room, a virtual tour with briefing about the Roman Cáparra, exhibition area with found objects and interpretive panels.

Hostels Cáparra interpretation centre

Roman baths (Baños de Montemayor)

Pi lg rim s

The Vía de la Plata began to be used by the notable Andalusian Mozarabic community as a pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela from the 9th-century onwards. Today, its consolidated infrastructure network and its great cultural and natural heritage are an attraction for thousands of walkers looking to reach Compostela.

The last stage of the Vía de la Plata in Cáceres runs through Tierras de Granadilla and the Ambroz Valley, amid meadows and luxuriant mountain areas. Here the municipium of Cáparra is very important, where the path after passing under its beautiful arch, goes toward Aldeanueva del Camino and ends up leaving the confines of Extremadura at Baños de Montemayor; its Roman baths o er a well-deserved rest to our feet.

All along the Vía de la Plata route in Cáceres we may rest in the hostels network who are at the service of the pilgrims in Alcuéscar, Garrovillas de Alconétar, Oliva de Plasencia, Hervás and Baños de Montemayor.

In addition, we will be able visit the Roman road interpretation centres such as Cáparra or the one located in Baños de Montemayor.

Pilgrim

Vía de la Plata Route

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