Why this ride
A 289 km round trip from Sortino - roughly 6 h 08 in the saddle. The stops in between: Palazzolo Acreide, Ragusa, Scicli and Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Necropolis of Pantalica and Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 289 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 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. Necropolis of Pantalica
Thousands of small square doorways riddle the limestone cliffs above the Anapo and Calcinara valleys, like the windows of a vast abandoned apartment block. These are rock-cut tombs, some five thousand of them, carved by the people who lived at Pantalica between roughly the thirteenth and seventh centuries before Christ. Together with Syracuse, the necropolis is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it is one of the most evocative places in Sicily, in a gorge of the Hyblaean Mountains west of Syracuse, between the towns of Sortino and Ferla.
Read the complete Necropolis of Pantalica write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Necropolis of Pantalica 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 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ragusa.
3. Ragusa
In 1693 a terrible earthquake destroyed much of south-eastern Sicily, and the towns of the Val di Noto were rebuilt in the baroque style of the time, creating a group of towns of extraordinary beauty, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ragusa is one of them, a town divided into two parts: Ragusa Superiore, the newer town on the ridge, built after the earthquake, and Ragusa Ibla, the old town on a lower hill, rebuilt on its medieval street plan.
Read the complete Ragusa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 66 km into the recorded legs you reach Ragusa. Next is Scicli.
4. Scicli
In January 1693 an earthquake flattened much of south-eastern Sicily, and the towns that rose from the rubble were rebuilt in a confident, theatrical late baroque style. Scicli is one of the eight towns of the Val di Noto listed by UNESCO for that reason, and it may be the most charming. It sits at the meeting of three limestone gorges, with a rocky hill above crowned by the ruins of the old church of San Matteo, and a centre of honey-coloured churches and palaces whose balconies are held up by carved grotesque faces, horses, sirens and monsters.
Read the complete Scicli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Scicli, about halfway. Next is Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto.
5. Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto
On 11 January 1693, a catastrophic earthquake struck southeastern Sicily, destroying dozens of towns and killing tens of thousands of people. What happened next is one of the great chapters in the history of town planning. Noto, which stood on a hill some kilometres away, was abandoned, and a new town was built from scratch on a gentler slope, with a grid of streets, grand stairways, churches and palaces, all in the soft, honey-coloured local limestone that glows gold and pink at sunset. Together with seven other towns rebuilt after the earthquake, including Ragusa, Modica and Scicli, Noto was listed by UNESCO in 2002 as the Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto.
Read the complete Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto sits at 115 km, about halfway. Next is back through Scicli.
6. back through Scicli
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Scicli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Scicli comes up about 197 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Ragusa.
7. back through Ragusa
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ragusa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 222 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Ragusa. Next is back through Palazzolo Acreide.
8. 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, late in the day. Next is Necropolis of Pantalica.
9. Necropolis of Pantalica
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Necropolis of Pantalica 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 289 km.
Leg by leg
Necropolis of Pantalica to Palazzolo Acreide
Necropolis of Pantalica → Palazzolo Acreide is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Palazzolo Acreide to Ragusa
Palazzolo Acreide → Ragusa is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ragusa to Scicli
Ragusa → Scicli is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Scicli to Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto
Scicli → Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto to back through Scicli
Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto → back through Scicli is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Scicli to back through Ragusa
back through Scicli → back through Ragusa is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ragusa to back through Palazzolo Acreide
back through Ragusa → back through Palazzolo Acreide is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Palazzolo Acreide to Necropolis of Pantalica
back through Palazzolo Acreide → Necropolis of Pantalica is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.