What is an amber road?
The more scenic, secondary roads in Italy are usually designated on maps by the color amber. “The Amber Road” was an ancient trade route from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Amber is a tree resin, preserved and hardened in the earth’s crust after millions of years. Great quantities washed up on the shores of the Baltic and were transferred south along the Amber Road to the Italian peninsula, then along the Silk Road to Asia. The Romans initiated the Amber Road, their most important northern trade route, around 200 BC. Amber was precious, used in ornamental objects and was thought to have curative properties when worn around the neck.
