Why this ride
From Modica it runs 272 km to Modica; allow about 5 h 34 of riding. The stops in between: Palazzolo Acreide, Militello Val di Catania, Catania and back through Militello Val di Catania. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Modica and Catania
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 272 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 34
- 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. Modica
Modica was destroyed in 1693, rebuilt in a hurry, and the result is one of the most dramatic baroque towns in Europe. A great earthquake that January killed tens of thousands across south-eastern Sicily, and the towns of the Val di Noto rose again in a new style, with curved facades, carved balconies and grotesque stone faces looking down from the corners. UNESCO listed eight of them together in 2002, and Modica is one of the finest. It occupies two steep ridges and the gorge between them, and the houses climb up the sides in layers, so that a walk through the streets is mostly a matter of steps.
Read the complete Modica write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Modica is where the day begins. Next is Palazzolo Acreide.
2. Palazzolo Acreide
Long before the Baroque churches, there were the Greeks. In the seventh century BC, settlers from Syracuse founded a hilltop outpost here called Akrai, controlling the routes into the interior of Sicily. The remains of their town lie on the hill above modern Palazzolo Acreide: a small, beautifully preserved Greek theatre with views over the hills, stone quarries turned into burial chambers, and the Santoni, a series of rock-cut figures of the goddess Cybele, carved into a cliff face, weathered but still powerful.
Read the complete Palazzolo Acreide write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Palazzolo Acreide comes up about 40 km into the recorded legs. Next is Militello Val di Catania.
3. Militello Val di Catania
Militello in Val di Catania is a small town in the hills south-west of Catania, in eastern Sicily, surrounded by orange groves and olive trees, with Mount Etna visible on the horizon. Like many towns in this part of Sicily, it was devastated by the earthquake of 1693, which destroyed much of the south-east of the island, and was rebuilt in the Baroque style. Its churches and palaces are part of the UNESCO-listed Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto, inscribed in 2002, together with Noto, Ragusa, Modica, Caltagirone and others.
Read the complete Militello Val di Catania write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 91 km into the recorded legs you reach Militello Val di Catania. Next is Catania.
4. Catania
Catania has been knocked down and rebuilt so many times that it has made a style out of resilience. Lava from Etna overran parts of the city in 1669, and then in 1693 a devastating earthquake flattened it almost entirely. The rebuilding produced one of the most striking Baroque cities in Italy, built with dark grey lava stone set off against pale limestone, with wide straight streets designed to offer escape routes in future disasters. The centre is part of the Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto World Heritage Site, and Etna looms over everything, often smoking at the end of the Via Etnea.
Read the complete Catania write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Catania, about halfway. Next is back through Militello Val di Catania.
5. back through Militello Val di Catania
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Militello Val di Catania write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Militello Val di Catania sits at 158 km, about halfway. Next is back through Palazzolo Acreide.
6. back through Palazzolo Acreide
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Palazzolo Acreide write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Palazzolo Acreide comes up about 232 km into the recorded legs. Next is Modica.
7. Modica
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Modica write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Modica closes the day.
Leg by leg
Modica to Palazzolo Acreide
Modica → Palazzolo Acreide is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Palazzolo Acreide to Militello Val di Catania
Palazzolo Acreide → Militello Val di Catania is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Militello Val di Catania to Catania
Militello Val di Catania → Catania is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Catania to back through Militello Val di Catania
Catania → back through Militello Val di Catania is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Militello Val di Catania to back through Palazzolo Acreide
back through Militello Val di Catania → back through Palazzolo Acreide is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Palazzolo Acreide to Modica
back through Palazzolo Acreide → Modica is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.