Crystals the size of a hand catch the sun along the Vena del Gesso, a ridge of selenite gypsum that runs for some twenty-five kilometres across the hills of Romagna, from the Sillaro valley to the Lamone. The rock formed millions of years ago when the Mediterranean dried up and its salts were deposited, and it has since been carved by water into caves, sinkholes and blind valleys. In 2023, UNESCO listed the evaporite karst and caves of the northern Apennines, and the Vena del Gesso is the heart of it. Monte Casino is one of the peaks on the ridge, near Borgo Tossignano and Casola Valsenio.
The ridge is strikingly beautiful: white cliffs above woods of oak and hornbeam, with caves where prehistoric people lived and medieval quarrymen dug gypsum for plaster. The Rocca di Tossignano, a ruined fortress on the cliff above Borgo Tossignano, has views along the ridge and down the Santerno valley. Casola Valsenio, in the next valley, is known as the village of herbs, with a large garden of aromatic and medicinal plants and a festival in their honour. Riolo Terme, nearby, has spa waters and a castle.
The riding is excellent and varied. The roads running up the Santerno and Senio valleys are smooth and fast, while the minor roads climbing over the ridges between them are narrow, steep and twisty, with spectacular views. Imola, a short ride away, has the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, the famous circuit where Formula One and motorcycle races have been held, and you may see riders heading there for track days. The surface on small roads can be broken, and there are cyclists in large numbers at weekends. Summer is hot; spring and autumn are lovely, with the hills green or golden.
Borgo Tossignano and Casalfiumanese have fuel and shops; Imola, about twelve kilometres away, has everything. The cooking of Romagna is famously generous: piadina, the flatbread filled with ham and cheese, tagliatelle with ragù, cappelletti in broth and the local wines, Sangiovese and Albana. A piadina at a roadside kiosk is the perfect quick lunch. If you have time, walk a stretch of the trail along the ridge, where the gypsum crystals glitter underfoot.