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At the beginning of the 19th century, in 1806, Istria and Dalmatia belonged to the French Empire after the signing of the Peace of Pressburg between Austria and France, as part of the Kingdom of Italy established by Napoleon I, Emperor of France and King of Italy. The seven-year reign of the French, it turned out, represented the largest construction investments up to that time. Guided by the goals of the French Empire's military strategy and commercial policy, the French determined the pace of road development in Dalmatia. However, the construction of roads was also conditioned by the geographical position of Dalmatia, as well as its relief. Namely, Dalmatia is represented by a narrow strip of land bounded on one side by mountain ranges, and on the other side by the Adriatic Sea. However, during their short reign, the French built about 500 kilometres of macadam roads in Dalmatia.

Provveditore Vincenzo Dandolo and the ambitious general Auguste Marmont stood out in the rapid development of roads, all in order to achieve the given imperial strategic and military goals. Roads could not be built along the coast itself due to the constant presence of English and Russian enemy warships from Split to Boka Kotorska, which threatened and disturbed the locals. For this reason, the French administration aimed to longitudinally connect the coastal hinterland of Dalmatia. Also, the naming of the road after Emperor Napoleon was very important. Namely, this sent a political message to the Ottoman Empire, as well as to the inhabitants of that region. Napoleon's road represented a guarantee of security for the Illyrian provinces, that is, for the French Empire against the Ottoman Empire.

Napoleon's road began in Knin and stretched through the Cetina valley to Sinj, over the bridge near Trilj and the Turia pass, behind Vruja and Biokovo, through a long valley that leads to Vrgorac and descended in the Neretva delta to Metković and then towards Trsteni, and there the route continued across the Dubrovnik coast and Konavale towards Herceg-Novi, Kotor and Budva. The route of Napoleon's road on the Pelješac peninsula stretches southeast from Ston to Orebić and Viganj in the northwest of the peninsula. Napoleon's road runs almost the entire length of the peninsula, and for strategic reasons, it passes through many difficult-to-access mountain areas.  Nevertheless, precisely because of this, you will get a completely new look at the Pelješac peninsula, as well as 48 less known localities of exceptional monumental importance, dating from prehistory to the 19th century.

In addition to French soldiers, many local residents also participated in the construction of Napoleon's road. This fact is precisely the reason why there is a noticeable difference in the method and quality of the construction of individual sections of macadam roads.

Fun fact: While the French soldiers were paid 10 Santina to build the road, the local population, who had no choice whether to participate or not, was paid only 5 Santina and bread.