Why this ride
From Bra it runs 184 km to Bra; allow about 4 h 10 of riding. It goes by way of Hills of Barbaresco, Canelli and Asti Spumante, Castello di Govone and Nizza Monferrato and Barbera.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Castello di Pollenzo and Nizza Monferrato and Barbera
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 184 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 10
- 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 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 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 24 km into the recorded legs. Next is Canelli and Asti Spumante.
3. 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
about 45 km into the recorded legs you reach Canelli and Asti Spumante. Next is Castello di Govone.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Nizza Monferrato and Barbera.
5. Nizza Monferrato and Barbera
Barbera is the everyday red of Piedmont, the wine on every trattoria table, and around Nizza Monferrato it has been raised to something more serious. The hills between Nizza, Vinchio, Castelnuovo Calcea and Mombercelli are covered in vines, planted in rows that follow the contours of the slopes, and the best wines from this area carry their own designation, Nizza DOCG, made from barbera alone. The vineyard landscapes of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato were listed by UNESCO in 2014, and this corner of the Asti hills is a fine example of what that means: a working landscape shaped by centuries of farming, with hilltop villages, brick churches, and small family wineries at the end of gravel tracks.
Read the complete Nizza Monferrato and Barbera write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nizza Monferrato and Barbera sits at 80 km, about halfway. Next is back through Castello di Govone.
6. back through 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 through Castello di Govone comes up about 118 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Canelli and Asti Spumante.
7. 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
about 139 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Canelli and Asti Spumante. 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 Castello di Pollenzo.
9. 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
The route ends here after 184 km.
Leg by leg
Castello di Pollenzo to Hills of Barbaresco
Castello di Pollenzo → Hills of Barbaresco is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hills of Barbaresco to Canelli and Asti Spumante
Hills of Barbaresco → 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 Castello di Govone
Canelli and Asti Spumante → Castello di Govone is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Castello di Govone to Nizza Monferrato and Barbera
Castello di Govone → Nizza Monferrato and Barbera is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Nizza Monferrato and Barbera to back through Castello di Govone
Nizza Monferrato and Barbera → back through Castello di Govone is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Castello di Govone to back through Canelli and Asti Spumante
back through Castello di Govone → 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 back through Hills of Barbaresco
back through Canelli and Asti Spumante → back through Hills of Barbaresco is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hills of Barbaresco to Castello di Pollenzo
back through Hills of Barbaresco → Castello di Pollenzo is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.