Ticino Lakes and Passes · short arc

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Fuel stop near Motta Visconti

   Motta Visconti stands on the edge of the Ticino valley, south-west of Milan, where the land drops from the Lombard plain into the broad, wooded corridor of the river. The Ticino here is wild and braided, flowing in multiple channels between gravel banks and islands, and the valley is protected as the Parco del Ticino, one of the oldest regional parks in Italy and a UNESCO biosphere reserve.

   Read the complete Fuel stop near Motta Visconti write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Ticino Lakes and Passes is where the day begins. Next is High point in Cilavegna.

2. 2. High point in Cilavegna

   Call Cilavegna a high point and anyone from the Lomellina will laugh: this corner of Lombardy, between the Ticino and the Sesia, is about as flat as land gets, a vast chequerboard of rice paddies, irrigation canals and poplar rows. But stand on the bank of a canal in spring, when the paddies are flooded and the whole plain becomes a mirror for the sky, with the snow-covered Alps floating above the horizon, and you will understand why people love it. Locals call it the mare a quadretti, the chequered sea.

   Read the complete High point in Cilavegna write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   You top out here; the road stops climbing. Next is Ticino Lakes and Passes checkpoint 8.

3. 3. Near Bareggio

   West of Milan, between Bareggio, Cusago and Settimo Milanese, the plain is laced with fontanili, spring-fed ditches where groundwater rises to the surface and keeps the water flowing at a steady temperature year-round. These springs made the land rich, and for centuries the area was a patchwork of meadows, rice fields and farmsteads. Today the city is closing in, but the Parco Agricolo Sud Milano protects much of the countryside.

   Read the complete Near Bareggio 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 284 km. Next is Scenic stretch near Cantù.

4. 4. Scenic stretch near Cantù

   Cantù is a town in the Brianza, the hilly area between Milan and Lake Como, and it has two claims to fame that may surprise you: furniture and lace. For centuries, the craftsmen of Cantù have made fine furniture, and the town is still full of workshops and showrooms. The lace-making tradition, the pizzo di Cantù, is equally old, and the town hosts exhibitions and a lace school. And in Italy, Cantù is also known for its basketball team, which has won European titles.

   Read the complete Scenic stretch near Cantù write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   The high point of this section. Next is Photo stop near Valmadrera-Caserta.

5. 5. Photo stop near Valmadrera-Caserta

   Lecco, at the foot of the jagged Grigne, is the town where Alessandro Manzoni set the opening of The Betrothed, the great Italian novel, and its famous first lines describe the branch of Lake Como that stretches south towards it. Valmadrera lies just across the water from Lecco, at the meeting point of the lake, the small lakes of Annone and the hills of Brianza, beneath the slopes of Monte Barro and the twin peaks of the Corni di Canzo.

   Read the complete Photo stop near Valmadrera-Caserta write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Photo stop near Valmadrera-Caserta tops the climb. Next is Milan / Northern Italy return.

6. 6. Soresina, on the way back

   Soresina is a town of the flat Lombard plain, between Cremona and Crema, and it lives and breathes dairy. The local cooperative, Latteria Soresina, is one of the largest cheese producers in Italy, making Grana Padano, provolone and butter from the milk of the surrounding farms. The landscape around is perfectly flat, criss-crossed by irrigation canals and lines of poplars, with large farmsteads, cascine, standing like fortresses in the fields.

   Read the complete Soresina, on the way back write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Milan / Northern Italy return comes up about 248 km into the recorded legs. Next is Food stop near Senna Lodigiana.

7. 7. Food stop near Senna Lodigiana

   Senna Lodigiana is a farming village on the north bank of the Po, opposite Piacenza, in the flat, fertile Lodigiano. Here the great river is wide and slow, flanked by poplar plantations, sandbanks and high flood embankments, the argini, which protect the farmland from the floods that have shaped this landscape for centuries.

   Read the complete Food stop near Senna Lodigiana write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Food stop near Senna Lodigiana closes the day.