Plural of autostrada; high-speed expressways or motorways, especially in Italy and Spain, designed for fast automobile travel.
From Italian 'autostrada,' combining 'auto' (automobile) and 'strada' (street/road). The term emerged in early 20th-century Italy to describe modern divided highways built for rapid vehicular transit.
Italy basically invented the modern expressway concept—the first autostrada opened between Milan and Como in 1924, decades before the German Autobahn or American Interstate System. These roads became symbols of national progress and modernization in fascist-era Europe.
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