Why this ride
A 288 km round trip from Zola Predosa - roughly 5 h 11 in the saddle. On the way it passes Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro, Mauseoleum of Theodoric and back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Gessi di Zola predosa and Mauseoleum of Theodoric
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 288 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 11
- 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. Gessi di Zola predosa
Southwest of Bologna, where the flat Po plain meets the first ripples of the Apennines, the hills around Zola Predosa hide a strange geology. These are gypsum hills, made of evaporite rock formed when an ancient sea dried out millions of years ago, leaving layers of shimmering selenite crystals. Water dissolves gypsum easily, and over time it has carved sinkholes, blind valleys and caves through the rock. In 2023, the Evaporitic Karst and Caves of the Northern Apennines were listed by UNESCO, and the Gessi Bolognesi around here are a key part of that story.
Read the complete Gessi di Zola predosa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gessi di Zola predosa is where the day begins. Next is Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro, 62 km on.
2. Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro
Driving through the hills of Romagna, south of Faenza, you notice a long, pale ridge cutting across the valleys like a wall. This is the Vena del Gesso Romagnola, a band of gypsum rock about twenty-five kilometres long, and Monte Mauro is its highest point, rising above the villages of Riolo Terme, Brisighella and Fognano. The ridge is now a regional park and part of the UNESCO site for the evaporitic karst of the northern Apennines.
Read the complete Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro comes up about 76 km into the recorded legs. Next is Mauseoleum of Theodoric.
3. Mauseoleum of Theodoric
Theodoric's tomb stands alone on the northern edge of Ravenna, among trees and grass, a squat two-storey block of white stone crowned by a single enormous dome. The king of the Ostrogoths ruled Italy from Ravenna for thirty-odd years until his death in 526, and he planned his own mausoleum before the end. It is built of Istrian limestone, dressed so tightly that no mortar was needed, and the roof is a single slab hollowed into a shallow dome, carried across the Adriatic from the Istrian coast. How they lifted it is still discussed.
Read the complete Mauseoleum of Theodoric write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 142 km into the recorded legs you reach Mauseoleum of Theodoric. Next is back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro, 61 km on.
4. back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro, late in the day. Next is Gessi di Zola predosa.
5. Gessi di Zola predosa
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gessi di Zola predosa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Gessi di Zola predosa. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Gessi di Zola predosa to Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro
Gessi di Zola predosa → Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro is 76 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro to Mauseoleum of Theodoric
Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro → Mauseoleum of Theodoric is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mauseoleum of Theodoric to back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro
Mauseoleum of Theodoric → back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro to Gessi di Zola predosa
back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro → Gessi di Zola predosa is 81 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.