Ticino Lakes and Passes

3 passes in 349 km, topping out at 2440 m

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Why this ride

A rider’s loop: clean exit, memorable middle, calm return. 349 km round from Motta Visconti - plan on about 7 h 15 of riding. The climbs: in Cilavegna, Scenic stretch near Cantù and near Valmadrera-Caserta. It tops out at about 1,050 m.

Roadbook

1. Fuel stop near Motta Visconti fuel

   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.

   The forests along the river are home to herons, kingfishers and many other birds, and the riverside paths are popular with walkers and cyclists. Just upstream, at Bereguardo, a pontoon bridge made of boats crosses the river, one of the last of its kind in Italy, and riding across it is a memorable experience. A little to the north, the Cistercian Abbey of Morimondo, founded in the twelfth century, stands among the rice fields, its brick church and cloister beautifully preserved.

   As a start and fuel stop, Motta Visconti is convenient, with service stations in the area and in nearby Abbiategrasso and Bereguardo. The roads here are flat, running through rice fields and along the river, with long straights and gentle curves. In spring, when the rice fields are flooded, the plain becomes a vast mirror reflecting the sky, and on clear days the Alps appear on the horizon.

   Traffic is light away from the main roads, but watch for farm vehicles and mosquitoes in summer. Surfaces vary. From here, the roads north lead to the lakes and the Alps, the start of a great day of riding.

2. High point in Cilavegna pass

   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.

   Cilavegna itself is a farming town with a church, a square and a reputation for asparagus, celebrated each spring with a festival. The Lomellina is one of Italy's main rice-growing areas, and risotto is the local religion. The rice fields also support huge numbers of herons, egrets and other wading birds, which nest in colonies in the woods.

   Just to the east lies Vigevano, home to one of the most beautiful squares in Italy, the Piazza Ducale, designed in the late fifteenth century for Ludovico Sforza, known as il Moro, with arcades on three sides and a castle behind. Leonardo da Vinci worked on irrigation projects in this area for the Sforza court.

   The riding is flat and straight, with long views and very little traffic. Surfaces vary, and some farm roads are narrow and rough. Watch for tractors, mud and mosquitoes in summer. Fuel and food are available in Cilavegna, Mortara and Vigevano.

3. Near Bareggio finish

   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.

   Cusago has a castle built by the Visconti as a hunting lodge, where the dukes of Milan came to hunt in the woods that then covered this part of the plain. South-west of here, the Cistercian abbey of Morimondo, founded in the twelfth century, is a quiet, beautiful place with a brick church and cloister, surrounded by fields and woods.

   On a bike this is connective tissue rather than a destination: roads trace canals and field edges at right angles. Traffic around Milan can be heavy, especially at rush hour, and the tangenziale ring road is often congested. Once you get away from the city, the roads become quieter, with long views across the fields.

   The Ticino river, to the west, is lined with woods and is protected as a regional park. The riverside paths are popular with walkers and cyclists, and the river itself, fast and clear, is a pleasant place to sit on a hot day.

   After a day of lakes and passes, there is something soothing about ending among ditches and herons. Bareggio's pumps and bars are a minute away, and the trattorias in the surrounding villages still cook for farmers rather than tourists.

4. Scenic stretch near Cantù pass

   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.

   On the edge of town, the Basilica of San Vincenzo in Galliano is a gem of early Romanesque architecture, consecrated in the early eleventh century, with frescoes of remarkable quality and a baptistery beside it. It is a quiet, atmospheric place, well worth a short stop.

   The Brianza hills are green and rolling, covered with woods, villas and small towns, and they rise gradually towards the Alps. Lake Como is only a short ride to the north, and the roads around its southern end, towards Como and Lecco, are scenic and busy.

   The riding around Cantù is a mix of urban roads and hill routes. The Brianza is densely populated, and traffic can be heavy, but the minor roads through the hills offer pleasant curves, short climbs and views of the mountains. Surfaces vary. Fuel and food are plentiful in Cantù and the surrounding towns. As a scenic stretch, the hills above the town offer glimpses of the Alps and the lakes.

5. Photo stop near Valmadrera-Caserta pass

   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.

   The landscape is dramatic and varied. The lake is deep and narrow, with mountains rising steeply from the water, and the villages along its shores are crowded on narrow strips of land. Monte Barro, a nature park, offers wide views over the lakes and the plain of Lombardy, and the hills of the Triangolo Lariano, between the two southern arms of Lake Como, are laced with roads.

   The riding is superb. The road over the Valassina towards Bellagio climbs through valleys and past villages, and the climb to the Madonna del Ghisallo, a chapel dedicated to the patron saint of cyclists, is a classic. The roads along the lake are narrow, winding and often busy, with tunnels, blind corners and traffic. Weekends bring crowds of tourists, cyclists and motorcyclists, so a weekday or an early start is advisable.

   Valmadrera and Lecco have fuel stations, supermarkets and restaurants. Lecco has a pleasant lakeside promenade with cafés and gelato, perfect for a break. Then the road leads north towards the Ticino lakes and passes, with Lake Lugano, Lake Maggiore and the high Alps ahead.

6. Soresina, on the way back swim

   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.

   There is no lake or beach near here, and the canals are not for swimming: they are fast, cold and steep-sided, and drownings happen every summer. If you want water, the nearest real river is the Adda, to the west, or the Oglio, to the east. At Pizzighettone, south-west of here, the Adda flows past impressive brick walls, and it was in that fortress that the French king Francis I was held prisoner after his defeat at Pavia in 1525.

   Cremona, a short ride south, is the home of violin making. Stradivari, Guarneri and Amati worked there, and the town still has workshops where luthiers carve instruments by hand. The violin museum is world-class, and the cathedral square, with its tall bell tower, the Torrazzo, is one of the finest in Italy.

   The riding here is a straight-line affair, with long, flat roads between fields. In summer the heat can be oppressive, and mosquitoes swarm in the evenings. In winter, thick fog settles on the plain, sometimes for days. Watch for tractors, slow trucks and sudden junctions at farm entrances.

   The town has the pumps and bars a place of eight thousand needs. Buy some provolone at the source, and if you reach Cremona, look for mostarda, fruit candied in a syrup sharp with mustard, and torrone, the nougat the city has been making for centuries.

7. Food stop near Senna Lodigiana food

   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.

   Pilgrims on the Via Francigena, the medieval route from Canterbury to Rome, crossed the Po near here. Sigeric, Archbishop of Canterbury, recorded the crossing in the tenth century, and today walkers following his route still cross by boat from Corte Sant'Andrea, a hamlet of Senna Lodigiana, to the south bank, where a small ferry service carries them across. It is one of the most atmospheric moments on the whole route.

   The food here is wonderful. The Lodigiano is dairy country, and Grana Padano and other cheeses are made from the milk of its cows. Across the river, Piacenza is famous for its cured meats, coppa, pancetta and salame, all with protected status, and for the red wine Gutturnio from the hills to the south. Risotto, tortelli and boiled meats with mostarda are on every menu.

   The riding is flat and peaceful, with roads running along the embankments and through the farmland, with views over the river and the poplar groves. Surfaces vary, and some embankment roads are narrow. Traffic is light. Fuel and food are available in the area, and Piacenza, across the bridge, has full services. As a finish, the Po at sunset, with mist rising from the water, is a memorable sight.

8. Back to Ticino Lakes finish

   Morimondo is the quietest place on this map, with only a few hundred residents, but its abbey is among the finest in Lombardy. The abbey, a Cistercian foundation of the twelfth century, was established by monks from Morimond in Burgundy, and its brick church, with a plain, severe interior, is still in use.

   For a ride that explored the Ticino lakes and passes, the end is a gentle one. The roads here run straight across rice fields and meadows, with sudden bends where a canal or a hedge intervenes, and the surface is generally good, though narrow and sometimes bumpy. In autumn, mist hangs over the fields and visibility can drop to a few metres, and in spring, the paddies are flooded and reflect the sky. Mosquitoes are a feature of summer evenings. The Ticino Park, a large protected area along the river, has woods, marshes and cycle paths, and is rich in birds.

   Rice is the main crop, and the local risotto, made with Carnaroli or Arborio, is a staple. The monks who built the abbey helped to drain and cultivate this land, and the network of canals, the Navigli, was used to carry goods and water. The Certosa di Pavia, a vast Carthusian monastery founded by the Visconti in 1396, lies about twenty kilometres to the south, and it is one of the great monuments of Lombardy.

   Fuel is available at Motta Visconti, with a station and supermarket, and the tiny villages around the abbey have a bar or trattoria. A bowl of risotto in a local trattoria, perhaps with frog or saffron, is a good way to end the day.

   Walk through the cloister if the abbey is open. The quiet, the brick and the long shadows have a gentle effect after a day on the road.

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