Why this ride
A 106 km round trip from Racconigi - roughly 1 h 59 in the saddle. On the way it passes Castello di Pollenzo, Hills of Barbaresco and back through Castello di Pollenzo.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Castello di Racconigi and Hills of Barbaresco
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 106 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 59
- 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 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 is where the day begins. Next is Castello di Pollenzo.
2. 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 comes up about 29 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 53 km into the recorded legs you reach Hills of Barbaresco. Next is back through Castello di Pollenzo.
4. 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, late in the day. Next is Castello di Racconigi.
5. Castello di Racconigi
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
Back at Castello di Racconigi. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Castello di Racconigi to Castello di Pollenzo
Castello di Racconigi → Castello di Pollenzo is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
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 back through Castello di Pollenzo
Hills of Barbaresco → back through Castello di Pollenzo is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Castello di Pollenzo to Castello di Racconigi
back through Castello di Pollenzo → Castello di Racconigi is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.