Why this ride
A 331 km round trip from Portovenere - roughly 4 h 45 in the saddle. The stops in between: Piazza del Duomo, Villa La Magia and back through Piazza del Duomo. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Isola Palmaria and Villa La Magia
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 331 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 45
- 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. Isola Palmaria
Isola Palmaria is the biggest of the three islands that lie just off the southern tip of the Ligurian coast near Porto Venere, the others being the tiny Tino and Tinetto. Together with the Cinque Terre and Porto Venere itself, they make up a UNESCO World Heritage landscape, and on a clear morning the sight of the cliffs plunging into the water, with pastel houses on the headland opposite, is as good as anything on the Italian coast. The Gulf of La Spezia was nicknamed the Gulf of Poets after the English writers who came here, including Byron, who is said to have swum across to Lerici from a grotto at Porto Venere that now carries his name.
Read the complete Isola Palmaria write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Isola Palmaria is where the day begins. Next is Piazza del Duomo.
2. Piazza del Duomo
Nothing prepares you for that first glimpse through the gateway. A wide green lawn, and set on it like ornaments on a cloth, the white marble cathedral, the round baptistery, the cemetery cloister of the Camposanto, and of course the bell tower, leaning at an angle that looks wrong no matter how many photographs you have seen. The Piazza del Duomo in Pisa, also called the Field of Miracles, was one of the first places in Italy to be listed by UNESCO, back in 1987.
Read the complete Piazza del Duomo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Piazza del Duomo comes up about 91 km into the recorded legs. Next is Villa La Magia.
3. Villa La Magia
The Medici loved the countryside, especially when it came with hunting grounds, and Villa La Magia at Quarrata was one of their country retreats at the foot of the Montalbano hills, a few kilometres south of Pistoia. Francesco I de' Medici bought it in the sixteenth century to use as a hunting lodge, and it belongs to the World Heritage inscription for the Medici villas and gardens of Tuscany. The villa is a solid rectangular building around a courtyard, more farmhouse than palace, with a park that has become home to contemporary art installations, a rather unexpected touch for a Renaissance hunting lodge.
Read the complete Villa La Magia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 166 km into the recorded legs you reach Villa La Magia. Next is back through Piazza del Duomo.
4. back through Piazza del Duomo
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Piazza del Duomo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Piazza del Duomo, late in the day. Next is Isola Palmaria.
5. Isola Palmaria
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Isola Palmaria write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Isola Palmaria. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Isola Palmaria to Piazza del Duomo
Isola Palmaria → Piazza del Duomo is 91 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Piazza del Duomo to Villa La Magia
Piazza del Duomo → Villa La Magia is 75 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Villa La Magia to back through Piazza del Duomo
Villa La Magia → back through Piazza del Duomo is 75 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Piazza del Duomo to Isola Palmaria
back through Piazza del Duomo → Isola Palmaria is 90 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Isola del Tino and Villa La Magia · 331 km
- Isola del Tinetto and Villa La Magia · 331 km