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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Basilica of St. Apollinaire Nuovo and Diamantina

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
379 km
Riding-time estimate
6 h 59
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.

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Why this ride

From Ravenna it runs 379 km to Ravenna; allow about 6 h 59 of riding. It goes by way of Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro, Gessi Bolognesi, Diamantina and back through Gessi Bolognesi. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Basilica of St. Apollinaire Nuovo

    Theodoric did not build Sant'Apollinare Nuovo as a monastery church. He built it around the year 500 as the palace chapel for his Arian court, a hall with a wooden roof and two long walls of marble columns, and it still carries the finest strip of mosaic in the city. High on the left wall, a procession of virgins in white robes moves from the port of Classe toward the Virgin and Child, led by the three Magi. On the right, a line of martyrs advances from the palace towards Christ enthroned. The walking figures look calm, and their gold background makes the whole nave shimmer.

    Read the complete Basilica of St. Apollinaire Nuovo write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    Basilica of St. Apollinaire Nuovo is where the day begins. Next is Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro, 58 km on.

  2. 2. Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro

    Driving through the hills of Romagna, south of Faenza, you notice a long, pale ridge cutting across the valleys like a wall. This is the Vena del Gesso Romagnola, a band of gypsum rock about twenty-five kilometres long, and Monte Mauro is its highest point, rising above the villages of Riolo Terme, Brisighella and Fognano. The ridge is now a regional park and part of the UNESCO site for the evaporitic karst of the northern Apennines.

    Read the complete Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro comes up about 67 km into the recorded legs. Next is Gessi Bolognesi.

  3. 3. Gessi Bolognesi

    Ride south out of Bologna and within ten minutes the city's suburbs give way to something surprising: a range of low hills made of gypsum, a soft, crystalline rock that dissolves in water and forms caves, sinkholes and strange, shiny outcrops. These are the Gessi Bolognesi, a protected regional park between the Savena and Idice valleys, and in 2023 they became part of the UNESCO site for the evaporitic karst and caves of the northern Apennines.

    Read the complete Gessi Bolognesi write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    about 129 km into the recorded legs you reach Gessi Bolognesi. Next is Diamantina.

  4. 4. Diamantina

    The Este dukes of Ferrara loved their countryside retreats, the delizie, and they scattered them across the flat land around the city like jewels on a cloth. The Diamantina, near Vigarano Pieve west of Ferrara, was one of them, an estate of farmland, woods and buildings named after the diamond, a symbol of the Este family. The delizie are part of the UNESCO listing of Ferrara, City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta, which recognises the city's planned urban layout and the way the Este shaped the surrounding landscape, draining marshes and creating farms and hunting grounds.

    Read the complete Diamantina write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    Diamantina, about halfway. Next is back through Gessi Bolognesi.

  5. 5. back through Gessi Bolognesi

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Gessi Bolognesi write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    back through Gessi Bolognesi sits at 231 km, about halfway. Next is back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro, 57 km on.

  6. 6. back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro comes up about 315 km into the recorded legs. Next is Basilica of St. Apollinaire Nuovo, 58 km on.

  7. 7. Basilica of St. Apollinaire Nuovo

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Basilica of St. Apollinaire Nuovo write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    Basilica of St. Apollinaire Nuovo closes the day.

Leg by leg

Basilica of St. Apollinaire Nuovo to Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro

Basilica of St. Apollinaire Nuovo → Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro is 67 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro to Gessi Bolognesi

Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro → Gessi Bolognesi is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Gessi Bolognesi to Diamantina

Gessi Bolognesi → Diamantina is 64 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.

Diamantina to back through Gessi Bolognesi

Diamantina → back through Gessi Bolognesi is 64 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.

back through Gessi Bolognesi to back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro

back through Gessi Bolognesi → back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro to Basilica of St. Apollinaire Nuovo

back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro → Basilica of St. Apollinaire Nuovo is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

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