Why this ride
A 113 km round trip from Govone - roughly 2 h 26 in the saddle. On the way it passes Canelli and Asti Spumante, Grinzane Cavour Castle and back through Canelli and Asti Spumante. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Castello di Govone and Grinzane Cavour Castle
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 113 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 26
- 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
Canelli and Asti Spumante → Grinzane Cavour Castle
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 30 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 35 km
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 Grinzane Cavour Castle.
3. Grinzane Cavour Castle
Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, the man who more or less engineered the unification of Italy, spent years as mayor of this little Langhe village before he went on to bigger things, and the square brick castle on its knoll still carries his name. He experimented with winemaking here too, at a time when Barolo was still finding its modern form, so the building sits at a neat crossroads of Piedmontese politics and Piedmontese wine.
Read the complete Grinzane Cavour Castle write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 56 km into the recorded legs you reach Grinzane Cavour Castle. Next is back through Canelli and Asti Spumante.
4. 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.
5. 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
Back at Castello di Govone. That is the ride.
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 Grinzane Cavour Castle
Canelli and Asti Spumante → Grinzane Cavour Castle is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Grinzane Cavour Castle to back through Canelli and Asti Spumante
Grinzane Cavour Castle → back through Canelli and Asti Spumante is 35 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.