Why this ride
262 km from Manziana to Manziana, about 5 h 26 of riding. On the way it passes Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar, Vatican City, The Via Appia across Alban Hills and The Via Appia in Rome.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Monte Raschio and The Via Appia in Rome
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 262 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 26
- 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
Mille Miglia Historic Route Core
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 36 km this is Mille Miglia Historic Route Core, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 36 km
- Named road
- Mille Miglia Historic Route Core
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar.
2. 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
Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar comes up about 26 km into the recorded legs. Next is Vatican City.
3. 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
about 69 km into the recorded legs you reach Vatican City. Next is The Via Appia across Alban Hills.
4. The Via Appia across Alban Hills
The Romans built the Appian Way straight as a ruler across the Campagna, but when it reached the Alban Hills, the old volcanic massif south-east of Rome, even they had to bend a little. At Ariccia, the road crossed a deep valley on a huge viaduct of stone blocks, parts of which still survive, and climbed past Albano and Genzano toward Velletri and the south.
Read the complete The Via Appia across Alban Hills write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Via Appia across Alban Hills, about halfway. Next is The Via Appia in Rome.
5. The Via Appia in Rome
Rome's regina viarum, the queen of roads, leaves the city through the Porta San Sebastiano and heads south-east toward Capua and eventually Brindisi. It was begun in 312 BC by the censor Appius Claudius Caecus, and the first miles out of Rome are now protected within the Parco Regionale dell'Appia Antica. The stretch of the old road is lined with tombs, ruins of villas, catacombs and umbrella pines, and the original paving stones, huge polygonal basalt blocks, still surface parts of it.
Read the complete The Via Appia in Rome write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Via Appia in Rome sits at 128 km, about halfway. Next is back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills.
6. back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Via Appia across Alban Hills write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills comes up about 153 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Vatican City.
7. back through Vatican City
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
about 189 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Vatican City. Next is back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar.
8. 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, late in the day. Next is Monte Raschio.
9. 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
The route ends here after 262 km.
Leg by leg
Monte Raschio to Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar
Monte Raschio → Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar is 26 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 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Vatican City to The Via Appia across Alban Hills
Vatican City → The Via Appia across Alban Hills is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Via Appia across Alban Hills to The Via Appia in Rome
The Via Appia across Alban Hills → The Via Appia in Rome is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Via Appia in Rome to back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills
The Via Appia in Rome → back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills to back through Vatican City
back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills → back through Vatican City is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Vatican City to back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar
back through Vatican City → back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar to Monte Raschio
back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar → Monte Raschio is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.