The Science of Spice

Europe 71

Oslo

Istanbul

Alexandria

Venice

Amsterdam

The 17th century was Amsterdam’s

Golden Age – its wealth was based on

Bruges domination of the world’s spice trade.

FINLAND

NORWAY

SWEDEN

GREAT

BRITAIN

FRANCE

ITALY

CYPRUS

GEORGIA

HUNGARY

GREECE

City built on spice

Venice’s location meant that

in medieval times, most of

the black pepper destined

for Europe passed through

the city. Venetian merchants

controlled Europe’s pepper

trade, and consequently the

city became extremely

wealthy and powerful.

MASTIC

The Greek island of Chios

is the main source of

the world’s mastic.

CARAWAY

Finnish caraway is rich in

essential oils, making it

highly sought-after.

BLUE FENUGREEK

This aromatic spice grows

wild in mountainous

northern Georgia.

PAPRIKA

Strings of drying peppers

festoon houses and

gardens in Hungary.

JUNIPER

Italian wild juniper is

especially prized by

gin makers.

Genoa

Genoa used its

spice-trade wealth to

become a powerful

and rich city-state.

Rome

The heart of the Roman

Empire, Rome was the

western end-point of the

ancient Silk Road.

Ribe

Spices reached Scandinavia

in the 9th century, via Viking

trading cities such as Ribe.

KEY

Historical spice trade routes

KEY

Historical spice trade routes

Ancient Silk Road

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