Castello di Racconigi and Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of t
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
334 km
Riding-time estimate
5 h 39
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 Racconigi it runs 334 km to Racconigi; allow about 5 h 39 of riding. The stops in between: Canelli and Asti Spumante, Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of t and back through Canelli and Asti Spumante. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Canelli and Asti Spumante comes up about 70 km into the recorded legs. Next is Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of t.
3. Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of t
Genoa never tried to be pretty in the way Florence or Venice did. It tried to be rich, and succeeded, and the Strade Nuove, the new streets laid out in the sixteenth century, are the proof. The city's banking families, who financed the Spanish crown for decades, built palaces along Via Garibaldi, Via Balbi and Via Cairoli, and they did it on a steep, crowded slope where there was no room for gardens, so the grandeur is stacked into courtyards, loggias and monumental staircases. The palaces were registered in the Rolli, official lists that told the republic which houses should host visiting kings and cardinals, a bit like a medieval hotel guide for diplomats. UNESCO listed the system in 2006.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Castello di Racconigi. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Castello di Racconigi to Canelli and Asti Spumante
Castello di Racconigi → Canelli and Asti Spumante is 70 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Canelli and Asti Spumante to Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of t
Canelli and Asti Spumante → Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of t is 97 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of t to back through Canelli and Asti Spumante
Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of t → back through Canelli and Asti Spumante is 97 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Canelli and Asti Spumante to Castello di Racconigi
back through Canelli and Asti Spumante → Castello di Racconigi is 70 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.