Why this ride
266 km from Rome to Rome, about 5 h 00 of riding. It goes by way of The Via Appia across Alban Hills, Villa d'Este, Appia. Regina Viarum and back through Villa d'Este. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Historic Centre of Rome and Via Appia. Regina Viarum
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 266 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 00
- 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
Mille Miglia Historic Route Core
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 25 km this is Mille Miglia Historic Route Core, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 25 km
- Named road
- Mille Miglia Historic Route Core
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Historic Centre of Rome
You cannot ride into the heart of Rome with any dignity, but you can arrive in a way that does the city justice. Come in by the Appian Way, the Via Appia Antica, laid down in 312 BC by the censor Appius Claudius and later called the queen of roads, and the approach tells you who built this city and what they wanted from it. The old stone surface, with its basalt blocks, still runs for miles south of the walls, between pines, tombs and lonely arches of aqueduct. Closer to the centre the road joins the real city, with the Colosseum, the Forum and the imperial fora lined up like a geology of power, the Pantheon with its famous open oculus, and then Baroque Rome, with Bernini fountains in squares that seem to appear around every corner.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Rome write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Historic Centre of Rome is where the day begins. Next is The Via Appia across Alban Hills.
2. The Via Appia across Alban Hills
The Romans built the Appian Way straight as a ruler across the Campagna, but when it reached the Alban Hills, the old volcanic massif south-east of Rome, even they had to bend a little. At Ariccia, the road crossed a deep valley on a huge viaduct of stone blocks, parts of which still survive, and climbed past Albano and Genzano toward Velletri and the south.
Read the complete The Via Appia across Alban Hills write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Via Appia across Alban Hills comes up about 25 km into the recorded legs. Next is Villa d'Este.
3. Villa d'Este
Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este, son of Lucrezia Borgia, had expected to become pope. When that did not happen, he was made governor of Tivoli and consoled himself by turning an old Benedictine convent on the hillside into a villa with a garden that would astonish Europe. Built in the sixteenth century, the Villa d'Este is a hillside of terraces, stairs and fountains, all fed by gravity from the river Aniene: the Hundred Fountains, a long wall of spouting masks and eagles, the Fountain of the Organ, which plays music driven by water, and the Oval Fountain, with its cascade falling into a pool. The villa and its gardens are a World Heritage Site.
Read the complete Villa d'Este write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 72 km into the recorded legs you reach Villa d'Este. Next is Via Appia. Regina Viarum, 39 km on.
4. Via Appia. Regina Viarum
The Romans called it the queen of roads, and in 2024 UNESCO agreed, listing the Via Appia from Rome to Brindisi as a World Heritage site. Begun in 312 BC by the censor Appius Claudius Caecus, it was the first great Roman road, built to move armies south toward Campania and later extended to the port of Brindisi, the gateway to Greece and the East.
Read the complete Via Appia. Regina Viarum write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Via Appia. Regina Viarum, about halfway. Next is back through Villa d'Este.
5. back through Villa d'Este
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Villa d'Este write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Villa d'Este sits at 154 km, about halfway. Next is back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills.
6. back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Via Appia across Alban Hills write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills comes up about 239 km into the recorded legs. Next is Historic Centre of Rome.
7. Historic Centre of Rome
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Rome write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Historic Centre of Rome closes the day.
Leg by leg
Historic Centre of Rome to The Via Appia across Alban Hills
Historic Centre of Rome → The Via Appia across Alban Hills is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Via Appia across Alban Hills to Villa d'Este
The Via Appia across Alban Hills → Villa d'Este is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Villa d'Este to Via Appia. Regina Viarum
Villa d'Este → Via Appia. Regina Viarum is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Via Appia. Regina Viarum to back through Villa d'Este
Via Appia. Regina Viarum → back through Villa d'Este is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Villa d'Este to back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills
back through Villa d'Este → back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills to Historic Centre of Rome
back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills → Historic Centre of Rome is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.