Why this ride
From Montecatini-Terme it runs 118 km to Montecatini-Terme; allow about 2 h 04 of riding. On the way it passes Villa La Magia, Villa de Castello and back through Villa La Magia. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Montecatini Terme and Villa de Castello
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 118 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 04
- 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
Chiantigiana Wine Road
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 32 km this is Chiantigiana Wine Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 32 km
- Named road
- Chiantigiana Wine Road
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Montecatini Terme
The water at Montecatini has been drunk for health since the Middle Ages, but it was in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that the town became one of the great spa resorts of Europe, with grand thermal establishments built in neoclassical, Liberty and Art Deco styles, set in parks of plane trees and pines. The Tettuccio, with its marble colonnades and frescoes, is the most famous, a temple of water where visitors drink from taps along a counter. In 2021 Montecatini became part of the Great Spa Towns of Europe World Heritage Site, alongside Baden-Baden, Bath, Vichy and others.
Read the complete Montecatini Terme write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Montecatini Terme is where the day begins. Next is Villa La Magia.
2. Villa La Magia
The Medici loved the countryside, especially when it came with hunting grounds, and Villa La Magia at Quarrata was one of their country retreats at the foot of the Montalbano hills, a few kilometres south of Pistoia. Francesco I de' Medici bought it in the sixteenth century to use as a hunting lodge, and it belongs to the World Heritage inscription for the Medici villas and gardens of Tuscany. The villa is a solid rectangular building around a courtyard, more farmhouse than palace, with a park that has become home to contemporary art installations, a rather unexpected touch for a Renaissance hunting lodge.
Read the complete Villa La Magia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Villa La Magia comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Villa de Castello.
3. Villa de Castello
The Villa di Castello stands on the north-western edge of Florence, in the flat land below Monte Morello, and the huge city has grown right up to its gates. Sesto Fiorentino, a town of forty-five thousand people, is three kilometres away, and the centre of Florence a few more. The villa is one of the Medici villas that UNESCO inscribed in 2013, and it is an unusual one, because the garden is the main attraction and the house inside is plain.
Read the complete Villa de Castello write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 60 km into the recorded legs you reach Villa de Castello. Next is back through Villa La Magia.
4. back through Villa La Magia
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Villa La Magia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Villa La Magia, late in the day. Next is Montecatini Terme.
5. Montecatini Terme
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Montecatini Terme write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Montecatini Terme. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Montecatini Terme to Villa La Magia
Montecatini Terme → Villa La Magia is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Villa La Magia to Villa de Castello
Villa La Magia → Villa de Castello is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Villa de Castello to back through Villa La Magia
Villa de Castello → back through Villa La Magia is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Villa La Magia to Montecatini Terme
back through Villa La Magia → Montecatini Terme is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.