Why this ride
A 317 km round trip from Borzano - roughly 6 h 01 in the saddle. It goes by way of Cathedral, Gessi di Zola predosa, Treno della Barca and back through Cathedral. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Bassa collina reggiana and Treno della Barca
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 317 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 01
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Bassa collina reggiana → Cathedral
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 35 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 36 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Bassa collina reggiana
The low hills south of Reggio Emilia, where the Po plain starts to ripple up toward the Apennines, hide a strange geology: outcrops of gypsum, the glittering crystalline rock left behind when ancient seas evaporated millions of years ago. Water dissolves gypsum easily, and over time it has carved caves, sinkholes and blind valleys into these hills. The Bassa Collina Reggiana, the low Reggio hill country, is part of the UNESCO site Evaporitic Karst and Caves of Northern Apennines, listed in 2023, and around Borzano, Albinea and Vezzano sul Crostolo you can see the white and grey gypsum cliffs poking through the woods and vineyards.
Read the complete Bassa collina reggiana write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bassa collina reggiana is where the day begins. Next is Cathedral.
2. Cathedral
Modena's cathedral is one of the masterpieces of Romanesque architecture in Europe, and the inscription on its facade still names its makers with pride: the architect Lanfranco and the sculptor Wiligelmo. Work began in 1099 to house the relics of Saint Geminianus, the city's patron, and the result is a building of pale stone, with arcaded galleries, lions supporting the columns of the portal, and carved panels telling the story of Genesis with an expressive power that still surprises. The Ghirlandina, the cathedral's bell tower, leans slightly and rises high above the rooftops, and together with the Piazza Grande they form a UNESCO site.
Read the complete Cathedral write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cathedral comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Gessi di Zola predosa.
3. Gessi di Zola predosa
Southwest of Bologna, where the flat Po plain meets the first ripples of the Apennines, the hills around Zola Predosa hide a strange geology. These are gypsum hills, made of evaporite rock formed when an ancient sea dried out millions of years ago, leaving layers of shimmering selenite crystals. Water dissolves gypsum easily, and over time it has carved sinkholes, blind valleys and caves through the rock. In 2023, the Evaporitic Karst and Caves of the Northern Apennines were listed by UNESCO, and the Gessi Bolognesi around here are a key part of that story.
Read the complete Gessi di Zola predosa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 75 km into the recorded legs you reach Gessi di Zola predosa. Next is Cathedral.
4. Cathedral
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cathedral write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cathedral, about halfway. Next is Treno della Barca.
5. Treno della Barca
The longest building in Bologna is not a palace or a church. It is a block of flats, curving along the edge of a district called Barca, on the western side of the city, and locals call it the train, il Treno. It was built in the 1960s as social housing, to a design by the architect Giuseppe Vaccaro, and it stretches for hundreds of metres in a single, slightly bent line, with a long row of balconies and a shared walkway. Whatever you think of postwar architecture, it was an ambitious attempt to house thousands of people in a planned community, and it is still a home today.
Read the complete Treno della Barca write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Treno della Barca sits at 163 km, about halfway. Next is back through Cathedral.
6. back through Cathedral
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cathedral write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cathedral comes up about 199 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Gessi di Zola predosa.
7. back through Gessi di Zola predosa
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gessi di Zola predosa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 238 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Gessi di Zola predosa. Next is back through Cathedral.
8. back through Cathedral
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cathedral write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cathedral, late in the day. Next is Bassa collina reggiana.
9. Bassa collina reggiana
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bassa collina reggiana write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 317 km.
Leg by leg
Bassa collina reggiana to Cathedral
Bassa collina reggiana → Cathedral is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cathedral to Gessi di Zola predosa
Cathedral → Gessi di Zola predosa is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gessi di Zola predosa to Cathedral
Gessi di Zola predosa → Cathedral is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cathedral to Treno della Barca
Cathedral → Treno della Barca is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Treno della Barca to back through Cathedral
Treno della Barca → back through Cathedral is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cathedral to back through Gessi di Zola predosa
back through Cathedral → back through Gessi di Zola predosa is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gessi di Zola predosa to back through Cathedral
back through Gessi di Zola predosa → back through Cathedral is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cathedral to Bassa collina reggiana
back through Cathedral → Bassa collina reggiana is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.