Neonian Baptistry and Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
362 km
Riding-time estimate
6 h 51
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.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Ravenna it runs 362 km to Ravenna; allow about 6 h 51 of riding. It goes by way of Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro, Gessi Bolognesi, Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola and back through Gessi Bolognesi. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
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.
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, 45 km on.
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.
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. 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.
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 Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola, 45 km on.
4. Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola
The Santerno valley climbs south from Imola into the Apennines toward Tuscany, and about fifteen kilometres up, the river cuts through a ridge of shining grey-white rock. This is the western end of the Vena del Gesso Romagnola, the gypsum vein that runs across this part of Romagna, and Monte Penzola rises above the village of Borgo Tossignano, with Fontanelice and Casalfiumanese nearby.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Neonian Baptistry closes the day.
Leg by leg
Neonian Baptistry to Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro
Neonian Baptistry → Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro to Gessi Bolognesi
Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro → Gessi Bolognesi is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gessi Bolognesi to Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola
Gessi Bolognesi → Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola to back through Gessi Bolognesi
Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola → back through Gessi Bolognesi is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gessi Bolognesi to back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro
back through Gessi Bolognesi → back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro to Neonian Baptistry
back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro → Neonian Baptistry is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.