Why this ride
A 240 km round trip from Rome - roughly 4 h 21 in the saddle. On the way it passes Villa Adriana, The Via Appia across Alban Hills, Villa d'Este and back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Rome afternoon · Villa d'Este
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 240 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 21
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Mille Miglia Historic Route Core
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 31 km this is Mille Miglia Historic Route Core, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 31 km
- Named road
- Mille Miglia Historic Route Core
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Rome
Rome is the end of the line for the Mille Miglia, or at least the halfway mark, because the old race ran out from Brescia to Rome and back again, a thousand Italian miles in all, which is where the name comes from. It ran from 1927 until 1957, mostly through towns and villages with the roads left open and crowds standing at the kerb, and the drivers flew down the Via Cassia and through the Apennine passes at speeds that make the whole thing seem barely believable now. It ended after a crash in 1957 that killed spectators, and was later revived as a rolling classic-car parade, which still comes through Rome every spring.
Read the complete Rome write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Rome is where the day begins. Next is Villa Adriana.
2. Villa Adriana
Hadrian never did anything by halves. Below the hill town of Tivoli, on the plain east of Rome, the emperor built himself a retreat that was less a villa than a private city: palaces, baths, libraries, theatres, gardens and long reflecting pools spread over more than a hundred hectares. Villa Adriana was constructed in the early second century AD, and Hadrian, a restless traveller and amateur architect, filled it with references to places he had seen, most famously the Canopus, a long pool lined with columns and statues meant to evoke the Egyptian canal of that name. Walking through the ruins today, among cypresses and olive trees, you get a sense of a man trying to bring the whole empire home.
Read the complete Villa Adriana write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Villa Adriana comes up 26 km in. Next is Villa Adriana.
3. Villa Adriana
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Villa Adriana write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
53 km in you reach Villa Adriana. Next is The Via Appia across Alban Hills.
4. The Via Appia across Alban Hills
The Romans built the Appian Way straight as a ruler across the Campagna, but when it reached the Alban Hills, the old volcanic massif south-east of Rome, even they had to bend a little. At Ariccia, the road crossed a deep valley on a huge viaduct of stone blocks, parts of which still survive, and climbed past Albano and Genzano toward Velletri and the south.
Read the complete The Via Appia across Alban Hills write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Via Appia across Alban Hills, about halfway. Next is Villa d'Este.
5. Villa d'Este
Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este, son of Lucrezia Borgia, had expected to become pope. When that did not happen, he was made governor of Tivoli and consoled himself by turning an old Benedictine convent on the hillside into a villa with a garden that would astonish Europe. Built in the sixteenth century, the Villa d'Este is a hillside of terraces, stairs and fountains, all fed by gravity from the river Aniene: the Hundred Fountains, a long wall of spouting masks and eagles, the Fountain of the Organ, which plays music driven by water, and the Oval Fountain, with its cascade falling into a pool. The villa and its gardens are a World Heritage Site.
Read the complete Villa d'Este write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Villa d'Este sits at 106 km, about halfway. Next is back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills.
6. back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Via Appia across Alban Hills write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills comes up 132 km in. Next is back through Villa Adriana.
7. back through Villa Adriana
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Villa Adriana write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
158 km in you reach back through Villa Adriana. Next is back through Villa Adriana.
8. back through Villa Adriana
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Villa Adriana write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Villa Adriana, late in the day. Next is Rome.
9. Rome
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Rome write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 240 km.
Leg by leg
Rome to Villa Adriana
Rome → Villa Adriana is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Villa Adriana to The Via Appia across Alban Hills
Villa Adriana → The Via Appia across Alban Hills is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Via Appia across Alban Hills to Villa d'Este
The Via Appia across Alban Hills → Villa d'Este is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Villa d'Este to back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills
Villa d'Este → back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills to back through Villa Adriana
back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills → back through Villa Adriana is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Villa Adriana to Rome
back through Villa Adriana → Rome is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.