PRESS DOSSIER VÍA DE LA PLATA ROUTE 2017 THE VÍA DE LA PLATA ROUTE The building of a Roman road commenced in the 1st century AD, exploiting the presence of a natural corridor in the west of the Iberian Peninsula which was to become one of its major road links over time. Besides linking up some of the major cities on the peninsula, the route also served to spread Roman culture. Moreover, the road was provided from the start with infrastructures that have nowadays become important remains marking its path. The Via de la Plata was second only in importance on the Iberian Peninsula to the Via Augusta. Work commenced under the consul Quintus Servilius Caepio, but it was the Emperor Augustus who really pushed forward its construction. Work continued under the emperor Tiberius, while the Hispanic emperors Trajan and Hadrian were the ones who would give it its definitive form. During the Middle Ages, it facilitated the Arab invasion northward, while also enabling the advance of the re-conquering Christian troops, and became an indisputable transport axis linking north and south. It was also at this time when it took on its present-day name, the Via de la Plata, which derives from the Arabic term balath or BaLaTa , meaning pavement or paved road. It is nowadays one of the most important and attractive itineraries in Europe, located to the west of the Iberian Peninsula. The Vía de la Plata route is based along an old communication axis of the Spanish West. Today, it is a magnificent and varied route possessing several World Heritage Sites and representing a top-level cultural and tourism potential in both the Iberian Peninsula and the European Union. The route goes across 4 regions and 7 provinces on a North-South axis of about 800 km and more than 120.000 square km and has strong links with neighbouring Portugal . The open multi-thematic character of the route allows different historical, cultural and ethnographical interpretations, increases its attraction. A large tourist circuit capable of bringing together all the excellent natural resources and different local cultures present in the territory around the axis of towns with an important historical heritage. [email protected] • www.rutadelaplata.com/en/ • Tel.: +34 985 18 51 00 A ROUTE BRIMMING WITH CULTURE The fact that the route is Roman in origin should not obscure the fact that the territory it traverses boasts an interesting heritage from all ages, even from before the coming of the Romans, such as in the Gate of Seville Fortress in Carmona, of Carthaginian origin, or in the Aramo Mines, dating from the Bronze Age, in Riosa . The Roman world, which is very present, could also be symbolized by the ancient milestones that marked the distances along the road, like those that can be seen in Casar de Cáceres , and by the road itself, which, besides the trace its path has left behind, still preserves some of its sections in perfect condition in Baños de Montemayor and Ribera de Arriba . Likewise worthy of note are: its Arab legacy, so present in the Royal Fortress and in the Giralda in Seville or in Montemolín , the last Arab stronghold in Extremadura; the Hebrew tradition in Hervás , in the form of its beautiful Jewry; the Asturian Pre-Romanesque in the elegant church of Santa Cristina in Lena ; the Romanesque, epitomised by the beautiful church of Santa Maria del Azogue in Benavente , in the region of Zamora; the Gothic, present in the altarpiece of the Church of the Divine Saviour in Calzadilla de los Barros ; the Baroque of Seville; and so on. Contemporary architecture has also become one of the leading features of the route, along which magnificent 20 th and 21 st century buildings can be found, such as those that house LABoral, City of Culture in Gijon or the coach station in Casar de Cáceres . Not to forget the Industrial Heritage linked to this architecture, which also finds its reflection on the route in sites such as Bustiello Mining Village in Mieres , the Flour Mill in La Bañeza , now a museum, and the textile factories that are the main feature of an interesting route in Béjar . Besides magnificent old quarters, more rural municipalities boast a ethnographic heritage such as the remarkable collection of hórreos and paneras (raised granaries and storehouses) in Ribera de Arriba , a symbol of how folk traditions and customs are still part of the everyday life of these places, where artisans who make products such as the chestnut baskets on sale in Baños de Montemayor represent a link with our more recent past. [email protected] • www.rutadelaplata.com/en/ • Tel.: +34 985 18 51 00 ROMAINS REMAINS in the associated municipalities The roman remains that are currently present throughout the route and in the towns associated to the network are: ASTURIAS CASTILLA Y LEÓN GIJÓN LA POLA DE GORDÓN • Roman baths • Roman road ruins (Buiza de Gordón) • • Roman wall Easterly vaults of Tornero bridge (Beberino de Gordón) • Campa de Torres Archaeological and • Roman altar of San Lorenzo chapel (La Nature Park Vid de Gordón) • Veranes Roman Villa LEÓN LLANERA • Roman crypts • Various Roman remains (Provincial Archaeological Roman wall Museum), outstanding among which are: • Roman remains (Museum of León) • Milestones (León Museum) • The altar (ara) dedicated to the guardian • Roman León Interpretation Centre deities of roadways (Lares Viales) • • Mosaic San Pedro reservoir and the Canal in El Cid’s Garden RIBERA DE ARRIBA LA BAÑEZA • The roman road (Picullanza) • Castrocontrigo gold route • MAEC (Castrocontrigo Archaeological MIERES and Ethnographic Museum) • La Carisa roman road (Ujo) • The roads called the Calzada del Obispo • Lucio Corona votive altar and the Calzada de las Valderías. Part of the so-called Vía 17 de Antonino. • Nimmedo Seddiago altar • Vizana Bridge (Alija del Infantado) • Gayo Sulpicio stele BENAVENTE LA POLA, LENA • Patavonium roman camp (Rosinos de Vidriales) • La Carisa camp • La Corona-El Pesadero Archaeological • Curriechos mountain peak Information Centre (Manganeses de la • La Carisa roman road Polvorosa) • Memorana mosaic (Provincial Museum ZAMORA Archaelogy) • Roman pontoon in Cabañas de Sayazo • Roman mosaics (Zamora Museum) ALLER • Fountains and tin fonts in Almaraz • La Carisa roman camp • Roman verraco (sculpture of animal) • Curriechos mountain peak and funerary stele in Muelas de Pan • • La Carisa roman road Funerary stele in Villalcampo BÉJAR • Votive altar devoted to Jupiter (Serapio) • Malena bridge and roman road • Milestones: Malena bridge and Valverde • Casafranca marble quarry • Villa or Palace in Valverde [email protected] • www.rutadelaplata.com/en/ • Tel.: +34 985 18 51 00 EXTREMADURA FUENTE DE CANTOS • Los Castillejos II Pre-Roman settlement BAÑOS DE MONTEMAYOR • The roman road MONTEMOLÍN • Roman baths • The “Val de Cuerna” Roman Necrópolis • El Cubo bridge Corinthian capital reused as a Font in the parish church CASAR DE CÁCERES • Roman road • Milestones cemetery ANDALUCÍA MÉRIDA CARMONA • Roman theatre and amphitheatre • Vía Augusta (main axis of the city) • Roman houses in the theatre • Archaeological monuments: necrópolis • Roman circus and amphitetheatre • National Museum of Roman Art • Sevilla gate • Aqueduct and waterway in Los Milagros • Cardo Maximus • Aqueduct and baths in San Lázaro • Upper Square – Roman Forum area • Roman bridges over the Guadiana and • Town Hall mosaics Albarregas • Town Museum • Temple of Diana • Córdoba gate • Portico of the Forum • Vía Augusta and bridge • Trajan’s Arch • Temple of the Provincial Forum SEVILLA • House of Mithras/Burial Ground in Los • Archaeological Museum of Seville Columbarios • Archaeological Antiquarium Museum of • Archaeological sites in Morerías Seville (Interpretation Centre: Via de la Plata • Roman remains in the House of Pilatus and the Alcazaba) • Lebrija Palace and Dueña Palace • Roman Baths / Snow Well in Calle Reyes • Huertas Roman stones forming part of the Giralda of Seville (Seville Cathedral) • Castellum aquae and monumental • fountain commemorating Calvary Roman columns forming part of the Alameda de Hercules and temple in • Baths in Calle Pontezuelas Calle Mámoles • Archaeological site in Calle José Ramón Remains of the Roman aqueduct in Los Mélida (Mosaic Interpretation Centre) Caños de Carmona • Basilica of Santa Eulalia (Crypt of the Martyr and remains of the Temple of Mars) • Cornalvo Dam • Proserpina Dam and Alange Spa LOS SANTOS DE MAIMONA • Roman remains (Municipal Museum) ZAFRA Roman remains in the vicinity of Zafra reused in numerous buildings [email protected] • www.rutadelaplata.com/en/ • Tel.: +34 985 18 51 00 A FESTIVE ROUTE Closely connected with the route’s cultural heritage are its festive events, linked to the seasons and the work in the field or the commemoration of Saints Days and diverse historical episodes. These events bring together elements rooted in the cultural traditions of each people such as popular music, which in itself is an aid to understanding the diversity of a route which starts off with the rhythm of clapping and flamenco in Andalusia to extend its influence in Extremadura, where it takes the form of the characteristic dances called rondallas and jotas , and then reaches Castile and León, where the sound of the traditional dulzaina , a member of the oboe family of instruments, announces the bagpipes so typical of Asturian lands, thus creating a cultural melting pot in which the Easter celebrations stand out among countless festivals. It is precisely on routes such as this where the traveller is given the opportunity to contemplate diversity in the holding of events of this nature: the North marked by the typical medieval severity of Castile and the South by the baroque mannerisms of Andalusia. Easter is undoubtedly the major festivity in Seville and also has a major impact in León, Zamora, and Carmona, all listed festivities of tourist interest. Carnival celebrations also take on great importance; for example, the one in La Bañeza has recently been declared a National Tourist Interest Festivity.