Castello di Moncalieri and Canelli and Asti Spumante
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
200 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 47
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.
From Moncalieri it runs 200 km to Moncalieri; allow about 3 h 47 of riding. It goes by way of Castello di Racconigi, Castello di Pollenzo, Canelli and Asti Spumante and back through Castello di Pollenzo. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Castello di Moncalieri
The Savoy dynasty liked a country house with a view, and Moncalieri Castle, perched on a hill above the Po, was one of their favourites. Built on older foundations, it was remodelled by the family over several centuries and served as a royal residence, hosting kings, queens and a number of historic decisions. In 1849, after the defeat at Novara, King Victor Emmanuel II issued from here the Proclamation of Moncalieri, addressed to the voters, which helped steady the kingdom in a dangerous moment. The castle is part of the group of Savoy residences around Turin that UNESCO listed in 1997, and part of it is still used by the Carabinieri.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Castello di Moncalieri is where the day begins. Next is Castello di Racconigi.
2. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Castello di Racconigi comes up about 32 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 61 km into the recorded legs you reach Castello di Pollenzo. Next is Canelli and Asti Spumante.
4. 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.