Why this ride
From Vigarano Pieve it runs 270 km to Vigarano Pieve; allow about 3 h 59 of riding. The stops in between: Galliera, Villa de Cafaggiolo and back through Galliera. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Diamantina and Villa de Cafaggiolo
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 270 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 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. Diamantina
The Este dukes of Ferrara loved their countryside retreats, the delizie, and they scattered them across the flat land around the city like jewels on a cloth. The Diamantina, near Vigarano Pieve west of Ferrara, was one of them, an estate of farmland, woods and buildings named after the diamond, a symbol of the Este family. The delizie are part of the UNESCO listing of Ferrara, City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta, which recognises the city's planned urban layout and the way the Este shaped the surrounding landscape, draining marshes and creating farms and hunting grounds.
Read the complete Diamantina write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Diamantina is where the day begins. Next is Galliera.
2. Galliera
Bologna is a city of arcades, and the longest ones stretch for miles. The porticoes, built over the centuries to give shelter from sun and rain, and to add room to the upper storeys, run for tens of kilometres through the old centre and out to the sanctuary of San Luca on a hill south of the city. UNESCO listed them in 2021. Via Galliera, the long street leading north from the centre towards Porta Galliera, is a good place to walk under them, with palaces, churches and shops on one side and the shade of the vaults on the other.
Read the complete Galliera write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Galliera comes up about 55 km into the recorded legs. Next is Villa de Cafaggiolo.
3. Villa de Cafaggiolo
In the green bowl of the Mugello, north of Florence, the Medici family kept a house long before they ruled the city. Cafaggiolo was an old family property, and around the middle of the fifteenth century Cosimo the Elder had the architect Michelozzo transform it into a fortified country villa, with battlements, a tower and a moat, a cross between a castle and a farmhouse. Lorenzo the Magnificent spent time here as a boy, and the villa became a favourite retreat for hunting and escaping the plague in the city. It is one of the Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany listed by UNESCO, and visits depend on current restoration and opening arrangements, so check before you arrive.
Read the complete Villa de Cafaggiolo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 136 km into the recorded legs you reach Villa de Cafaggiolo. Next is back through Galliera.
4. back through Galliera
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Galliera write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Galliera, late in the day. Next is Diamantina.
5. Diamantina
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Diamantina write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Diamantina. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Diamantina to Galliera
Diamantina → Galliera is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Galliera to Villa de Cafaggiolo
Galliera → Villa de Cafaggiolo is 81 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Villa de Cafaggiolo to back through Galliera
Villa de Cafaggiolo → back through Galliera is 79 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Galliera to Diamantina
back through Galliera → Diamantina is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.