Trento long day · Villa Caldogno

424 km from Trento

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Why this ride

From Trento it runs 424 km to Trento; allow about 7 h 19 of riding. The stops in between: Sciliar-Catinaccio, Villa Angarano, Villa Forni Cerato and Villa Caldogno. The highest point is about 1,800 m. It suits an unhurried touring pace.

Roadbook

1. Trento start

   Trento lies in the Adige valley with the Dolomites standing over it, a mid-sized Alpine city of about eighty thousand where Italian and Austrian history meet. Until 1918 it belonged to the Habsburgs, and before that it was a prince-bishopric, and you can still feel the north-south seam in its architecture, its apple orchards and its habit of doing things properly. Rock walls rise on both sides, and in winter the valley floor can sit in shade by mid-afternoon.

   Everyone with a history book knows the name from the Council of Trent, the long church council held here between 1545 and 1563 that shaped the Catholic response to the Reformation. The sessions took place in the cathedral and in Santa Maria Maggiore, and the city has quietly traded on it ever since. In the centre, the Fountain of Neptune stands in Piazza Duomo, the Castello del Buonconsiglio sits beside the old walls with its frescoed Torre Aquila, and the modern MUSE science museum, designed by Renzo Piano, stands on the site of an old factory by the river.

   From a rider's point of view, Trento is a gateway rather than a destination. The road up Monte Bondone from the city climbs through hairpins toward a ski area and botanical garden, a quick way to feel the Alps after a morning in town. To the east lies the Valsugana, to the west the Val di Non with its apple orchards, and north the road toward Bolzano and the Brenner. Traffic in the valley is heavy at rush hour, and trucks use the Adige corridor in numbers, so leave early or late.

   Fuel and food are no problem in a city this size. Look for strangolapreti, bread dumplings with spinach, canederli in broth, and local wines such as Teroldego and Trentodoc, the sparkling wine made in the traditional method. Parking in the old centre is restricted, but the edges are workable for bikes. Winter brings ice on shaded bends in the surrounding hills, so late spring through early autumn is the comfortable window.

2. Sciliar-Catinaccio sight

   Watch the Rosengarten at sunset from the valley of Bolzano and you will understand the legend. As the sun goes down, the pale dolomite peaks glow pink, then red, then purple, a phenomenon the Ladin people call enrosadira. According to the old story, King Laurin of the dwarves had a magnificent rose garden here, and when he was captured by enemies who had spotted his roses, he cursed the garden so that no one would see it by day or by night. He forgot the twilight, and so, for a few minutes each evening, the roses bloom again on the rocks. Together with the Sciliar, or Schlern, the great flat-topped massif to the north, the Catinaccio forms one of the components of the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage site, listed in 2009.

   The Sciliar is a symbol of South Tyrol, its sheer walls and rounded summit visible from all over the region, and local legend held that witches gathered on its plateau. Below it spreads the Alpe di Siusi, the Seiser Alm, the largest high-altitude meadow in Europe, carpeted with flowers in early summer. Between the two massifs, the valleys of Tires and the Eggental lead into the heart of the mountains.

   The riding is world-class. From Nova Levante, Welschnofen in German, the road climbs past the Lago di Carezza, a small lake of extraordinary colours with the Latemar reflected in its water, to the Passo di Costalunga, the Karerpass, at 1,745 metres, before dropping into the Val di Fassa at Vigo. The Passo Nigra, a narrower road, links the Tires valley with the Costalunga, with tight bends and views of the Rosengarten walls. From the Fassa valley, the great Dolomite passes, Sella, Pordoi, Fedaia, are within easy reach. Surfaces are generally excellent, but traffic in summer can be heavy, with cars, buses, cyclists and other bikes, and speed limits and noise restrictions are strictly enforced.

   Nova Levante and Vigo di Fassa have fuel, shops, restaurants and plenty of accommodation. The local food is a blend of Tyrolean and Italian: canederli, speck, apple strudel, and polenta with mushrooms. The passes are usually open from late spring to autumn, but snow can fall at any time at altitude. Early morning and late afternoon offer the quietest roads and the best light.

3. Villa Angarano sight

   Bassano del Grappa sits where the river Brenta leaves the mountains and spreads onto the Venetian plain, and its symbol is a covered wooden bridge, the Ponte Vecchio, designed by Palladio in the sixteenth century and rebuilt several times since after floods and wars. On the right bank of the river, just outside the town, stands Villa Angarano, a country house whose two long colonnaded wings were designed by Palladio, while the central residence was built later, in a different style, by the Venetian architect Baldassare Longhena. The villa is still a working wine estate and belongs to the UNESCO site of the City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto.

   Bassano is a town to linger in. Its streets are lined with arcades and painted facades, and by the bridge stands a distillery making grappa since the eighteenth century, where you can taste the strong grape spirit standing at the counter. In spring, Bassano is famous for its white asparagus, served with boiled eggs and a simple dressing. The bridge was also a key point in the First World War, and the alpine troops who fought nearby are honoured throughout the town.

   Above Bassano looms Monte Grappa, a massive mountain at the edge of the Alps that was the scene of bitter fighting between Italian and Austro-Hungarian forces in 1917 and 1918. At the summit, over seventeen hundred metres high, stands a huge memorial and ossuary containing the remains of thousands of soldiers. The road up from Romano d'Ezzelino, known as the Cadorna road after the general who built it, climbs in a long series of hairpins with views over the plain, and it is a classic motorcycle ride.

   To the north, the Valsugana follows the Brenta into the mountains towards Trento, with a fast main road and quieter roads along the river. The roads around Bassano can be busy, and the climbs to Monte Grappa are popular on weekends with cyclists and riders, so take care on blind bends. Weather in the mountains changes quickly, and the top can be cold and foggy even in summer.

   Bassano has fuel, shops and plenty of restaurants. Stand on the old bridge with a glass of grappa or a mezzo e mezzo aperitivo, and watch the river rush by beneath you.

4. Villa Forni Cerato sight

   Not every Palladian villa is a palace. Villa Forni Cerato, in Montecchio Precalcino north of Vicenza, is a small, modest building, a cube with a simple loggia and pediment, built in the mid-sixteenth century for Girolamo Forni, a timber merchant and amateur painter. Its attribution to Palladio has been debated, but it is included in the UNESCO-listed City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto, and its compact harmony shows how Palladio's ideas worked even at a small scale. It is privately owned and not always open, so check before planning a visit.

   The countryside here is the high plain north of Vicenza, between the Astico and Brenta rivers, a landscape of fields, vineyards, poplar rows and small towns, with the Alps rising abruptly to the north. Sandrigo, two kilometres away, is famous for one dish: baccalà alla vicentina, stockfish slow-cooked in milk and oil and served with polenta, celebrated every year with a festival. Nearby, Breganze is known for its wine, especially the sweet Torcolato.

   The riding gets serious just to the north. The Asiago plateau, reached by the Costo road from Piovene Rocchette, a climb of many hairpins, is a high plateau of meadows, forests and cheese dairies, scarred by First World War trenches and memorials. To the east, Monte Grappa, another battlefield, is reached by spectacular roads with views over the plain. Marostica, with its walled town and the human chess game held on its square in September every other year, and Bassano del Grappa, with its covered wooden bridge and grappa distilleries, are both nearby.

   Sandrigo and Thiene have fuel and services, and Vicenza, the city of Palladio, is a short ride south. The plain is busy and built-up, with lots of traffic and speed cameras, so the best riding is in the hills. Spring and autumn are ideal, while summer can be hot and hazy on the plain.

5. Villa Caldogno turn

   Villa Caldogno is one of the quieter Palladian villas, standing in a park on the edge of the town of the same name, a few kilometres north of Vicenza. Andrea Palladio designed it in the mid-sixteenth century for the Caldogno family, and it shows his early style: a compact, symmetrical block with a triple-arched loggia in the centre, a pediment above, and no unnecessary decoration. Inside, the main hall and rooms are covered with frescoes by Giovanni Antonio Fasolo and Giovanni Battista Zelotti, depicting scenes of country life, banquets, games and love, painted with charm and humour. Like the other villas of the Veneto, it belongs to the UNESCO listing of the City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas.

   The villas were country houses and working farms at the same time. Venetian noble families, as Venice turned from the sea to the land in the sixteenth century, invested in agriculture on the mainland, and Palladio gave them buildings that combined the dignity of a classical temple with the practicality of barns, stables and storerooms. His ideas, spread through his books, influenced architecture from England to the United States, where Jefferson's Monticello owes him a clear debt.

   Vicenza itself is the city Palladio shaped, with the Basilica Palladiana on the main square, the Teatro Olimpico and street after street of palazzi. It's worth a half day, but leave the bike outside the restricted traffic zone.

   North of Caldogno, the plain gives way to the foothills of the Alps, and the riding becomes excellent. The road up to the Asiago plateau climbs from the plain in a long series of hairpins, the Costo, to a high plateau of meadows and forests, scene of fierce fighting in the First World War, where war memorials and trenches are scattered through the woods. Monte Grappa, to the east, is another great climb, with a huge war memorial at the summit. Both roads are popular with riders and cyclists, so ride with care on weekends.

   Caldogno has fuel and cafés; Vicenza has everything. The area around Breganze, on the edge of the hills, produces Torcolato, a sweet wine from dried grapes, and Asiago cheese comes from the plateau above. Have a plate of baccalà alla vicentina, the city's famous dried cod dish, with polenta.

6. back through Villa Forni Cerato stop

   back through Villa Forni Cerato comes up 265 km in.

7. back through Villa Angarano stop
8. back through Sciliar-Catinaccio stop

   back through Sciliar-Catinaccio, late in the day.

9. Trento finish

   The route ends here after 424 km.

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