Why this ride
From Govone it runs 191 km to Govone; allow about 4 h 06 of riding. The stops in between: Canelli and Asti Spumante, Hills of Barbaresco, Castello di Pollenzo and Castello di Racconigi.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Castello di Govone and Castello di Racconigi
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 191 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 06
- 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. Castello di Govone
Govone is a village of eight hundred people in the Roero, the hilly country on the left bank of the Tanaro across from the Langhe, and it is dominated by a palace far too grand for its size. The Castello di Govone was a residence of the House of Savoy, rebuilt in the baroque style in the eighteenth century, and it is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy inscribed together as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Inside are rooms decorated with Chinese wallpaper, and outside, terraced gardens look down over the valley.
Read the complete Castello di Govone write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Castello di Govone is where the day begins. Next is Canelli and Asti Spumante.
2. 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 comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hills of Barbaresco.
3. 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
about 42 km into the recorded legs you reach Hills of Barbaresco. Next is Castello di Pollenzo.
4. 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
Castello di Pollenzo, about halfway. Next is Castello di Racconigi.
5. 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 sits at 85 km, about halfway. Next is back through Castello di Pollenzo.
6. 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
back through Castello di Pollenzo comes up about 125 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Hills of Barbaresco.
7. 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
about 149 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Hills of Barbaresco. Next is back through Canelli and Asti Spumante.
8. back through 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
back through Canelli and Asti Spumante, late in the day. Next is Castello di Govone.
9. Castello di Govone
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Castello di Govone 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 191 km.
Leg by leg
Castello di Govone to Canelli and Asti Spumante
Castello di Govone → Canelli and Asti Spumante is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
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 back through Castello di Pollenzo
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 back through Canelli and Asti Spumante
back through Hills of Barbaresco → back through Canelli and Asti Spumante is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Canelli and Asti Spumante to Castello di Govone
back through Canelli and Asti Spumante → Castello di Govone is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.