Why this ride
From Ravenna it runs 252 km to Ravenna; allow about 4 h 54 of riding. It goes by way of Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro, Gessi Bolognesi and back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Basilica of St. Apollinaire Nuovo and Gessi Bolognesi
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 252 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 54
- 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. 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, 52 km on.
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. 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 back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro, 52 km on.
4. 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, late in the day. Next is Basilica of St. Apollinaire Nuovo, 52 km on.
5. 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
Back at Basilica of St. Apollinaire Nuovo. That is the ride.
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 back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro
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.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Arian Baptistry and Gessi Bolognesi · 251 km
- Neonian Baptistry and Gessi Bolognesi · 248 km