Mille Miglia Historic Route Core: Brescia to Ravenna

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Brescia

   Brescia is one of those Italian cities that is much better than its reputation. It lies at the foot of the Alps, on the edge of the Lombard plain, with the Garda and Iseo lakes close by and the Val Trompia and Val Camonica running north into the mountains. It has Roman remains, including a temple and theatre on the slopes beneath the castle, as well as a medieval and Renaissance heart. The Santa Giulia monastery, now a museum, is a UNESCO site, and the castle on the hill above gives a wide view across the rooftops.

   Read the complete Brescia write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Brescia is where the day begins. Next is Verona.

2. 2. Verona

   Verona is one of those Italian cities where the Romans left such a large footprint that the later centuries had to build around it. The Arena, a first-century amphitheatre, is still used for performances, and each summer the opera festival fills its stone seats with audiences who bring candles and cushions. A few streets away lies the Piazza delle Erbe, once the Roman forum, now an open-air market beneath frescoed palaces and the old watchtower. The Adige river loops around the old town in a tight S-bend, and the stone bridges and ramparts that cross it make a handsome backdrop to evening walks.

   Read the complete Verona write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Verona comes up about 72 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ferrara.

3. 3. Ferrara

   Ferrara is a city built for walking and cycling, with flat streets, a ring of Renaissance walls nine kilometres long, and so many bicycles that it is called the city of bicycles. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, under the Este family, it was one of the great courts of Renaissance Italy, and the Estense castle, with its moat and drawbridges, still dominates the centre. The city's Renaissance planning, especially the Herculean Addition, a new quarter laid out in the late fifteenth century, led historians to call it the first modern city in Europe, and UNESCO has inscribed Ferrara and the Po Delta as a World Heritage Site.

   Read the complete Ferrara write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 179 km into the recorded legs you reach Ferrara. Next is Ravenna.

4. 4. Ravenna

   Ravenna is a town that was once the capital of an empire, and then largely forgotten, which is why so much of it survives. In 402 AD the Western Roman emperor Honorius moved his court here, because the marshes around it were easier to defend than Rome. After Rome fell, the Ostrogoth king Theodoric ruled from Ravenna, and then the Byzantine emperor Justinian reconquered it, and left behind the churches whose mosaics are among the glories of early Christian art. Eight of its early Christian monuments are on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

   Read the complete Ravenna write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Ravenna closes the day.