Why this ride
A 377 km round trip from Agrigento - roughly 6 h 53 in the saddle. On the way it passes Villa Romana del Casale, Ragusa and back through Villa Romana del Casale. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Archaeological Area of Agrigento and Ragusa
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 377 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 53
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Archaeological Area of Agrigento
The Valley of the Temples is not really a valley at all, but a long ridge running parallel to the Sicilian south coast, with the sea shining a few kilometres to the south and modern Agrigento climbing the hill behind. The Greeks called their city Akragas. It was founded around 580 BC by settlers from Gela and became one of the great cities of the Greek west, rich enough that the philosopher Empedocles, who lived here, is said to have remarked that the citizens built as if they would live forever and ate as if they would die tomorrow.
Read the complete Archaeological Area of Agrigento write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Archaeological Area of Agrigento is where the day begins. Next is Villa Romana del Casale.
2. 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
Villa Romana del Casale comes up about 93 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ragusa.
3. Ragusa
In 1693 a terrible earthquake destroyed much of south-eastern Sicily, and the towns of the Val di Noto were rebuilt in the baroque style of the time, creating a group of towns of extraordinary beauty, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ragusa is one of them, a town divided into two parts: Ragusa Superiore, the newer town on the ridge, built after the earthquake, and Ragusa Ibla, the old town on a lower hill, rebuilt on its medieval street plan.
Read the complete Ragusa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 189 km into the recorded legs you reach Ragusa. Next is back through Villa Romana del Casale.
4. back through Villa Romana del Casale
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Villa Romana del Casale, late in the day. Next is Archaeological Area of Agrigento.
5. Archaeological Area of Agrigento
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Archaeological Area of Agrigento write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Archaeological Area of Agrigento. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Archaeological Area of Agrigento to Villa Romana del Casale
Archaeological Area of Agrigento → Villa Romana del Casale is 93 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Villa Romana del Casale to Ragusa
Villa Romana del Casale → Ragusa is 96 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Ragusa to back through Villa Romana del Casale
Ragusa → back through Villa Romana del Casale is 94 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Villa Romana del Casale to Archaeological Area of Agrigento
back through Villa Romana del Casale → Archaeological Area of Agrigento is 94 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.