The Spanish Road was a crucial military and logistical route used by the Spanish Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries to move troops and supplies from Spanish-controlled Milan in northern Italy to the Spanish Netherlands (modern-day Belgium), bypassing hostile France. This overland corridor passed through friendly or Habsburg-aligned territories like Savoy, Lorraine, and Franche-Comté, enabling Spain to reinforce its armies during conflicts such as the Eighty Years' War against the Dutch Revolt. Though not a single paved road, it was a network of paths, mountain passes, and supply points negotiated with or coerced from local rulers. The route symbolized Spain's effort to maintain control over its scattered European empire, but it gradually declined in importance as France grew more powerful, territorial control shifted, and Spain’s dominance waned in the second half of the 17th century.