Neonian Baptistry and Gessi Bolognesi

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Neonian Baptistry

   You have to be nearby to find the Neonian Baptistry at all, a plain brick octagon beside the cathedral that looks more like a service building than a monument. It is the oldest of Ravenna's surviving mosaic monuments, built around the end of the fourth century as the baptistery of the orthodox cathedral, and redecorated in the middle of the fifth century by Bishop Neon, whose name it carries. It was raised on the site of a Roman bath house and reused older marble, typical of a city busy turning pagan stone into Christian rooms.

   Read the complete Neonian Baptistry write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Neonian Baptistry is where the day begins. Next is Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro, 52 km on.

2. 2. Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro

   Driving through the hills of Romagna, south of Faenza, you notice a long, pale ridge cutting across the valleys like a wall. This is the Vena del Gesso Romagnola, a band of gypsum rock about twenty-five kilometres long, and Monte Mauro is its highest point, rising above the villages of Riolo Terme, Brisighella and Fognano. The ridge is now a regional park and part of the UNESCO site for the evaporitic karst of the northern Apennines.

   Read the complete Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro comes up about 64 km into the recorded legs. Next is Gessi Bolognesi.

3. 3. Gessi Bolognesi

   Ride south out of Bologna and within ten minutes the city's suburbs give way to something surprising: a range of low hills made of gypsum, a soft, crystalline rock that dissolves in water and forms caves, sinkholes and strange, shiny outcrops. These are the Gessi Bolognesi, a protected regional park between the Savena and Idice valleys, and in 2023 they became part of the UNESCO site for the evaporitic karst and caves of the northern Apennines.

   Read the complete Gessi Bolognesi write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 127 km into the recorded legs you reach Gessi Bolognesi. Next is back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro, 52 km on.

4. 4. back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro, late in the day. Next is Neonian Baptistry.

5. 5. Neonian Baptistry

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Neonian Baptistry write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Neonian Baptistry. That is the ride.