Why this ride
A 211 km round trip from Canelli - roughly 4 h 23 in the saddle. On the way it passes Hills of Barbaresco, Castello di Pollenzo, Castello di Racconigi and Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Canelli and Asti Spumante and Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 211 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 23
- 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. Canelli and Asti Spumante
Under the streets of Canelli runs a second town, made of brick tunnels and vaulted galleries cut into the hillside, where for well over a century sparkling wine has rested in the cool and the dark. The locals call them the underground cathedrals, and they are the reason this small Piedmontese town is part of the UNESCO listing of the vineyard landscapes of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato. Canelli was one of the places where Italian sparkling wine was pioneered in the nineteenth century, using the local Moscato grape, and the town's big wine houses still welcome visitors into their cellars by appointment.
Read the complete Canelli and Asti Spumante write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Canelli and Asti Spumante is where the day begins. Next is Hills of Barbaresco.
2. Hills of Barbaresco
Barbaresco is a hill, a village, a tower and a wine, and in the Langhe those things are hard to separate. The village sits on a ridge above the Tanaro river a few kilometres northeast of Alba, its medieval brick tower standing over rows of vines that roll off in every direction like a green sea frozen mid-swell. Together with the neighbouring Barolo country and the Roero and Monferrato, these hills form the vineyard landscape of Piedmont listed by UNESCO in 2014.
Read the complete Hills of Barbaresco write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hills of Barbaresco comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is Castello di Pollenzo.
3. Castello di Pollenzo
The village of Pollenzo was a Roman town, Pollentia, long before it was a Savoy estate, and in 402 a Roman army under Stilicho fought Alaric's Visigoths nearby in one of the last great battles of the Western Empire. Today the name means food. The castle and the neo-Gothic agricultural complex built around it by King Carlo Alberto in the nineteenth century, the Agenzia, now house the University of Gastronomic Sciences, founded by the Slow Food movement, which was born in nearby Bra. The estate is part of the UNESCO-listed Residences of the Royal House of Savoy.
Read the complete Castello di Pollenzo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 46 km into the recorded legs you reach Castello di Pollenzo. Next is Castello di Racconigi.
4. Castello di Racconigi
Racconigi is a small town on the plain south of Turin, in Piedmont, surrounded by fields of maize and rice and lines of poplars. It is dominated by its castle, a grand residence of the House of Savoy, which ruled Piedmont and later Italy. Originally a medieval fortress, it was transformed over the centuries into a palace, with Baroque and neoclassical façades, and surrounded by a vast park with lakes, woods and a farm. The castle is part of the UNESCO-listed Residences of the Royal House of Savoy, inscribed in 1997.
Read the complete Castello di Racconigi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Castello di Racconigi, about halfway. Next is Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi.
5. Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi
On the southern edge of Turin, at the end of a long straight avenue lined with trees, a bronze stag stands on the dome of a palace that looks like a star dropped on the plain. The Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi was built from 1729 by the architect Filippo Juvarra for King Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy as a hunting lodge, though the word lodge hardly does justice to its grand halls, frescoed ceilings and sprawling wings. It is part of the World Heritage Site of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy, inscribed in 1997.
Read the complete Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi sits at 101 km, about halfway. Next is back through Castello di Racconigi.
6. back through Castello di Racconigi
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Castello di Racconigi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Castello di Racconigi comes up about 139 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Castello di Pollenzo.
7. back through Castello di Pollenzo
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Castello di Pollenzo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 168 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Castello di Pollenzo. Next is back through Hills of Barbaresco.
8. back through Hills of Barbaresco
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hills of Barbaresco write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Hills of Barbaresco, late in the day. Next is Canelli and Asti Spumante.
9. Canelli and Asti Spumante
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Canelli and Asti Spumante 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 211 km.
Leg by leg
Canelli and Asti Spumante to Hills of Barbaresco
Canelli and Asti Spumante → Hills of Barbaresco is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hills of Barbaresco to Castello di Pollenzo
Hills of Barbaresco → Castello di Pollenzo is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Castello di Pollenzo to Castello di Racconigi
Castello di Pollenzo → Castello di Racconigi is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Castello di Racconigi to Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi
Castello di Racconigi → Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi to back through Castello di Racconigi
Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi → back through Castello di Racconigi is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Castello di Racconigi to back through Castello di Pollenzo
back through Castello di Racconigi → back through Castello di Pollenzo is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Castello di Pollenzo to back through Hills of Barbaresco
back through Castello di Pollenzo → back through Hills of Barbaresco is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hills of Barbaresco to Canelli and Asti Spumante
back through Hills of Barbaresco → Canelli and Asti Spumante is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.