Why this ride
A 164 km round trip from Grinzane Cavour - roughly 2 h 52 in the saddle. On the way it passes Castello di Govone, Castello di Pollenzo, Castello di Racconigi and back through Castello di Pollenzo.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Grinzane Cavour Castle and Castello di Racconigi
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 164 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 52
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Grinzane Cavour Castle → Castello di Govone
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 26 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 25 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Grinzane Cavour Castle
Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, the man who more or less engineered the unification of Italy, spent years as mayor of this little Langhe village before he went on to bigger things, and the square brick castle on its knoll still carries his name. He experimented with winemaking here too, at a time when Barolo was still finding its modern form, so the building sits at a neat crossroads of Piedmontese politics and Piedmontese wine.
Read the complete Grinzane Cavour Castle write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Grinzane Cavour Castle is where the day begins. Next is Castello di Govone.
2. 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 comes up about 25 km into the recorded legs. Next is Castello di Pollenzo.
3. 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
about 53 km into the recorded legs you reach Castello di Pollenzo. Next is Castello di Racconigi.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is back through Castello di Pollenzo.
5. 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 sits at 107 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 140 km into the recorded legs. Next is Grinzane Cavour Castle.
7. Grinzane Cavour Castle
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Grinzane Cavour Castle write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Grinzane Cavour Castle closes the day.
Leg by leg
Grinzane Cavour Castle to Castello di Govone
Grinzane Cavour Castle → Castello di Govone is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Castello di Govone to Castello di Pollenzo
Castello di Govone → Castello di Pollenzo is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Castello di Pollenzo to Castello di Racconigi
Castello di Pollenzo → Castello di Racconigi is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Castello di Racconigi to back through Castello di Pollenzo
Castello di Racconigi → back through Castello di Pollenzo is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Castello di Pollenzo to back through Castello di Govone
back through Castello di Pollenzo → back through Castello di Govone is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Castello di Govone to Grinzane Cavour Castle
back through Castello di Govone → Grinzane Cavour Castle is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.