Why this ride
A 241 km round trip from Soriano nel Cimino - roughly 5 h 08 in the saddle. On the way it passes Monte Raschio, Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar, Vatican City and back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Monte Cimino and Vatican City
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 241 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 08
- 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. Monte Cimino
Monte Cimino is the highest point of the Cimini hills, an old volcanic range rising to just over a thousand metres between Viterbo and the Tiber valley in northern Lazio. Its top is clothed in one of the most beautiful beech forests in Italy, unusually low for beech in this latitude, and UNESCO counts these trees among Europe's ancient beech forests. On a hot summer day, climbing into its shade from the baking plain feels like entering a cathedral.
Read the complete Monte Cimino write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Monte Cimino is where the day begins. Next is Monte Raschio.
2. Monte Raschio
Beech trees usually need altitude and cool weather in central Italy, so it is a surprise to find a beech forest at only about five hundred metres on Monte Raschio, a low volcanic hill near Oriolo Romano, north-west of Rome. The forest survives here thanks to a local microclimate, with humidity from Lake Bracciano and the volcanic soils, and it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, a site that spans many countries.
Read the complete Monte Raschio write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Monte Raschio comes up about 47 km into the recorded legs. Next is Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar.
3. Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar
The Etruscans built their houses of wood and mud brick, which is why so few survive, and they built their tombs of rock, which is why we know them best through their dead. The Banditaccia necropolis at Cerveteri, north-west of Rome, is a city of tombs: great round tumuli covered in grass, cut into the volcanic tufa and laid out along streets, with chambers inside carved to look like houses, with beds, chairs, columns and beams. The necropolis, together with the painted tombs of Tarquinia further north, was listed by UNESCO in 2004, and walking its lanes is one of the most atmospheric experiences in central Italy.
Read the complete Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 78 km into the recorded legs you reach Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar. Next is Vatican City.
4. Vatican City
The smallest state in the world is about forty-four hectares of walled hill on the right bank of the Tiber, and somehow it contains the largest church in Christendom, one of the greatest art collections ever assembled and a population that would barely fill a village. The Vatican exists as an independent country since the Lateran Treaty of 1929 between the Holy See and Mussolini's Italy, but the popes have been building here for far longer. St Peter's Basilica stands over the traditional site of the apostle's grave, and its dome, designed by Michelangelo, dominates the skyline of western Rome. Bernini's colonnade, sweeping round the square like two great arms, was meant to embrace every visitor who arrived.
Read the complete Vatican City write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Vatican City, about halfway. Next is back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar.
5. back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar sits at 139 km, about halfway. Next is back through Monte Raschio.
6. back through Monte Raschio
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Monte Raschio write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Monte Raschio comes up about 193 km into the recorded legs. Next is Monte Cimino.
7. Monte Cimino
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Monte Cimino write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Monte Cimino closes the day.
Leg by leg
Monte Cimino to Monte Raschio
Monte Cimino → Monte Raschio is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Monte Raschio to Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar
Monte Raschio → Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar to Vatican City
Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar → Vatican City is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Vatican City to back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar
Vatican City → back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar to back through Monte Raschio
back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar → back through Monte Raschio is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Monte Raschio to Monte Cimino
back through Monte Raschio → Monte Cimino is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.