Why this ride
416 km from Ciaculli to Ciaculli, about 6 h 08 of riding. It goes by way of Cefalù Cathedral, Villa Romana del Casale and back through Cefalù Cathedral. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Admiral’s Bridge and Villa Romana del Casale
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 416 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 08
- 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
Sicily Madonie Mountain Road
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 108 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 108 km
- Named road
- Sicily Madonie Mountain Road
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Admiral’s Bridge
The Ponte dell'Ammiraglio is an old bridge that has lost its river. It was built in 1131 by George of Antioch, the admiral of the Norman king Roger II of Sicily, a Greek Christian from Syria who rose to be the most powerful man in the kingdom, and it spans the Oreto, whose course has since been diverted, leaving the bridge standing over a dry bed among modern roads. Even so, its pointed arches, built of pale stone, are a fine example of the Arab-Norman style that flourished in Sicily, and it forms part of the UNESCO listing of Arab-Norman Palermo and the cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale, inscribed in 2015.
Read the complete Admiral’s Bridge write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Admiral’s Bridge is where the day begins. Next is Cefalù Cathedral.
2. Cefalù Cathedral
Cefalù is where Sicily squeezes a medieval town between a rock and a beach. The Rocca, a limestone crag, rises a steep couple of hundred metres straight behind the old centre, and the cathedral sits at its foot, a heavy, golden-grey Norman building with two square towers that you can see from the coastal highway long before you reach the town. According to tradition King Roger II promised to build it after surviving a storm at sea, and work began in 1131. Whatever the truth of the vow, the church is a statement of power by a Norman king who ruled Sicily and wanted it to look Mediterranean, not merely northern.
Read the complete Cefalù Cathedral write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cefalù Cathedral comes up 93 km in. Next is Villa Romana del Casale.
3. Villa Romana del Casale
Somewhere in the fourth century AD, a very rich Roman, perhaps a senator or an imperial official, built a country villa in the hills of central Sicily and covered its floors with mosaics. The Villa Romana del Casale, just outside Piazza Armerina, has some of the finest and most extensive Roman floor mosaics anywhere, around 3,500 square metres, inscribed on the UNESCO list in 1997. Buried by a landslide in the Middle Ages, the villa was rediscovered and excavated mainly in the twentieth century, and the mosaics were preserved remarkably well.
Read the complete Villa Romana del Casale write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
185 km in you reach Villa Romana del Casale. Next is back through Cefalù Cathedral.
4. back through Cefalù Cathedral
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cefalù Cathedral write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cefalù Cathedral, late in the day. Next is Admiral’s Bridge.
5. Admiral’s Bridge
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Admiral’s Bridge write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Admiral’s Bridge. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Admiral’s Bridge to Cefalù Cathedral
Admiral’s Bridge → Cefalù Cathedral is 77 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Cefalù Cathedral to Villa Romana del Casale
Cefalù Cathedral → Villa Romana del Casale is 108 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Villa Romana del Casale to back through Cefalù Cathedral
Villa Romana del Casale → back through Cefalù Cathedral is 108 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Cefalù Cathedral to Admiral’s Bridge
back through Cefalù Cathedral → Admiral’s Bridge is 77 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.