Why this ride
220 km from Frassinello Monferrato to Frassinello Monferrato, about 5 h 01 of riding. It goes by way of Nizza Monferrato and Barbera, Castello di Govone, Canelli and Asti Spumante and Hills of Barbaresco.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Monferrato of the Inferot and Hills of Barbaresco
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 220 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 01
- 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. Monferrato of the Inferot
The low hills of the Monferrato, in Piedmont, roll between the Po to the north and the Tanaro to the south, and the Inferot label points at the part of them near Cella Monte, Rosignano and Frassinello, ten kilometres from Casale Monferrato. This is soft country, sandstone ridges clothed in vines, with brick villages on the crests and fog in the valleys on autumn mornings.
Read the complete Monferrato of the Inferot write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Monferrato of the Inferot is where the day begins. Next is Nizza Monferrato and Barbera.
2. Nizza Monferrato and Barbera
Barbera is the everyday red of Piedmont, the wine on every trattoria table, and around Nizza Monferrato it has been raised to something more serious. The hills between Nizza, Vinchio, Castelnuovo Calcea and Mombercelli are covered in vines, planted in rows that follow the contours of the slopes, and the best wines from this area carry their own designation, Nizza DOCG, made from barbera alone. The vineyard landscapes of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato were listed by UNESCO in 2014, and this corner of the Asti hills is a fine example of what that means: a working landscape shaped by centuries of farming, with hilltop villages, brick churches, and small family wineries at the end of gravel tracks.
Read the complete Nizza Monferrato and Barbera write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nizza Monferrato and Barbera comes up about 42 km into the recorded legs. Next is Castello di Govone.
3. 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
about 67 km into the recorded legs you reach Castello di Govone. Next is Canelli and Asti Spumante.
4. Canelli and Asti Spumante
Under the streets of Canelli runs a second town, made of brick tunnels and vaulted galleries cut into the hillside, where for well over a century sparkling wine has rested in the cool and the dark. The locals call them the underground cathedrals, and they are the reason this small Piedmontese town is part of the UNESCO listing of the vineyard landscapes of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato. Canelli was one of the places where Italian sparkling wine was pioneered in the nineteenth century, using the local Moscato grape, and the town's big wine houses still welcome visitors into their cellars by appointment.
Read the complete Canelli and Asti Spumante write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Canelli and Asti Spumante, about halfway. Next is Hills of Barbaresco.
5. Hills of Barbaresco
Barbaresco is a hill, a village, a tower and a wine, and in the Langhe those things are hard to separate. The village sits on a ridge above the Tanaro river a few kilometres northeast of Alba, its medieval brick tower standing over rows of vines that roll off in every direction like a green sea frozen mid-swell. Together with the neighbouring Barolo country and the Roero and Monferrato, these hills form the vineyard landscape of Piedmont listed by UNESCO in 2014.
Read the complete Hills of Barbaresco write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hills of Barbaresco sits at 98 km, about halfway. Next is back through Canelli and Asti Spumante.
6. back through Canelli and Asti Spumante
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Canelli and Asti Spumante write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Canelli and Asti Spumante comes up about 130 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Castello di Govone.
7. 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
about 152 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Castello di Govone. Next is back through Nizza Monferrato and Barbera.
8. back through Nizza Monferrato and Barbera
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Nizza Monferrato and Barbera write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Nizza Monferrato and Barbera, late in the day. Next is Monferrato of the Inferot.
9. Monferrato of the Inferot
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Monferrato of the Inferot 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 220 km.
Leg by leg
Monferrato of the Inferot to Nizza Monferrato and Barbera
Monferrato of the Inferot → Nizza Monferrato and Barbera is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Nizza Monferrato and Barbera to Castello di Govone
Nizza Monferrato and Barbera → Castello di Govone is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Castello di Govone to Canelli and Asti Spumante
Castello di Govone → Canelli and Asti Spumante is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Canelli and Asti Spumante to Hills of Barbaresco
Canelli and Asti Spumante → Hills of Barbaresco is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hills of Barbaresco to back through Canelli and Asti Spumante
Hills of Barbaresco → back through Canelli and Asti Spumante is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Canelli and Asti Spumante to back through Castello di Govone
back through Canelli and Asti Spumante → back through Castello di Govone is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Castello di Govone to back through Nizza Monferrato and Barbera
back through Castello di Govone → back through Nizza Monferrato and Barbera is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Nizza Monferrato and Barbera to Monferrato of the Inferot
back through Nizza Monferrato and Barbera → Monferrato of the Inferot is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.