Why this ride
A 239 km round trip from Mantova - roughly 5 h 17 in the saddle. The stops in between: Castellaro Lagusello - Fondo Tacoli, San Sivino, Frassino and Lucone.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Mantoue and Lucone
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 239 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 17
- 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
Lake Garda Western Shore and Strada della Forra
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 28 km this is Lake Garda Western Shore and Strada della Forra, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 28 km
- Named road
- Lake Garda Western Shore and Strada della Forra
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Mantoue
Mantua rises out of three artificial lakes formed by the river Mincio, a Renaissance city set in the flat Po plain, and in summer the air carries the smell of water and reeds. The Gonzaga family ruled here for almost four centuries, and they turned a modest town into one of the most brilliant courts in Italy. In the Ducal Palace, a labyrinth of hundreds of rooms, Andrea Mantegna painted the Camera degli Sposi, a small chamber whose ceiling shows an illusionistic oculus with faces and cherubs peering down. Not far away, the Palazzo Te, built for Federico Gonzaga by Giulio Romano, is a pleasure villa with playful frescoes of giants falling.
Read the complete Mantoue write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mantoue is where the day begins. Next is Castellaro Lagusello - Fondo Tacoli.
2. Castellaro Lagusello - Fondo Tacoli
South of Lake Garda, the land rises into a series of low hills, the moraines left behind by the glacier that carved the lake. Among them, in a hollow, lies a small heart-shaped lake, and on a ridge above it stands the walled village of Castellaro Lagusello, one of the most charming in Lombardy. The lake and its marshes are a nature reserve, and on its shore, at Fondo Tacoli, archaeologists found the remains of a Bronze Age pile dwelling settlement, part of the UNESCO group of prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps.
Read the complete Castellaro Lagusello - Fondo Tacoli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Castellaro Lagusello - Fondo Tacoli comes up about 32 km into the recorded legs. Next is San Sivino.
3. San Sivino
On the western shore of Lake Garda, between Manerba and Moniga, the little bay of San Sivino hides something very old under its shallows. People lived here in the Bronze Age in villages built on wooden piles at the water's edge, and the remains of their posts, tools and pottery survive in the mud of the lake. The site is one of the prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps that UNESCO listed in 2011, a series of more than a hundred sites spread across six countries. There is nothing to see above the water, but knowing that the shore was settled thousands of years ago adds a quiet depth to an afternoon by the lake.
Read the complete San Sivino write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 63 km into the recorded legs you reach San Sivino. Next is Frassino.
4. Frassino
Just outside Peschiera del Garda, at the southern tip of the lake, the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Frassino stands among vineyards and fields. According to legend, in 1510 a farmer working in his vineyard was threatened by a snake, prayed to the Virgin and found a small statue of the Madonna in the branches of an ash tree, frassino in Italian. The snake disappeared, and the sanctuary was built on the spot. Today it is a Franciscan church and convent, with a cloister and a collection of votive offerings left by the grateful over the centuries.
Read the complete Frassino write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Frassino, about halfway. Next is Lucone.
5. Lucone
Lucone is a small basin in the green hills of the Valtènesi, just west of Lake Garda, and it is one of the sites in the UNESCO listing of prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps. Once there was a little lake here, and during the Bronze Age people built villages of wooden houses raised on piles along its shore. The lake later turned to marsh and peat, which preserved the timbers, pottery and organic remains in waterlogged conditions for thousands of years. What you see today is a gentle, wooded hollow among vineyards and fields, and you need some imagination; the finds are in the archaeological museum in nearby Gavardo.
Read the complete Lucone write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Lucone sits at 106 km, about halfway. Next is back through Frassino.
6. back through Frassino
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Frassino write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Frassino comes up about 150 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through San Sivino.
7. back through San Sivino
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete San Sivino write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 176 km into the recorded legs you reach back through San Sivino. Next is back through Castellaro Lagusello - Fondo Tacoli.
8. back through Castellaro Lagusello - Fondo Tacoli
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Castellaro Lagusello - Fondo Tacoli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Castellaro Lagusello - Fondo Tacoli, late in the day. Next is Mantoue.
9. Mantoue
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mantoue write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 239 km.
Leg by leg
Mantoue to Castellaro Lagusello - Fondo Tacoli
Mantoue → Castellaro Lagusello - Fondo Tacoli is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Castellaro Lagusello - Fondo Tacoli to San Sivino
Castellaro Lagusello - Fondo Tacoli → San Sivino is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
San Sivino to Frassino
San Sivino → Frassino is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Frassino to Lucone
Frassino → Lucone is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Lucone to back through Frassino
Lucone → back through Frassino is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Frassino to back through San Sivino
back through Frassino → back through San Sivino is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through San Sivino to back through Castellaro Lagusello - Fondo Tacoli
back through San Sivino → back through Castellaro Lagusello - Fondo Tacoli is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Castellaro Lagusello - Fondo Tacoli to Mantoue
back through Castellaro Lagusello - Fondo Tacoli → Mantoue is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.