Nizza Monferrato and Barbera and Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
331 km
Riding-time estimate
6 h 47
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.
A 331 km round trip from Nizza Monferrato - roughly 6 h 47 in the saddle. On the way it passes Monferrato of the Inferot, Castello di Govone, Castello di Racconigi and Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Nizza Monferrato and Barbera
Barbera is the everyday red of Piedmont, the wine on every trattoria table, and around Nizza Monferrato it has been raised to something more serious. The hills between Nizza, Vinchio, Castelnuovo Calcea and Mombercelli are covered in vines, planted in rows that follow the contours of the slopes, and the best wines from this area carry their own designation, Nizza DOCG, made from barbera alone. The vineyard landscapes of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato were listed by UNESCO in 2014, and this corner of the Asti hills is a fine example of what that means: a working landscape shaped by centuries of farming, with hilltop villages, brick churches, and small family wineries at the end of gravel tracks.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nizza Monferrato and Barbera is where the day begins. Next is Monferrato of the Inferot.
2. Monferrato of the Inferot
The low hills of the Monferrato, in Piedmont, roll between the Po to the north and the Tanaro to the south, and the Inferot label points at the part of them near Cella Monte, Rosignano and Frassinello, ten kilometres from Casale Monferrato. This is soft country, sandstone ridges clothed in vines, with brick villages on the crests and fog in the valleys on autumn mornings.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Monferrato of the Inferot comes up about 42 km into the recorded legs. Next is Castello di Govone.
3. Castello di Govone
Govone is a village of eight hundred people in the Roero, the hilly country on the left bank of the Tanaro across from the Langhe, and it is dominated by a palace far too grand for its size. The Castello di Govone was a residence of the House of Savoy, rebuilt in the baroque style in the eighteenth century, and it is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy inscribed together as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Inside are rooms decorated with Chinese wallpaper, and outside, terraced gardens look down over the valley.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 91 km into the recorded legs you reach Castello di Govone. Next is Castello di Racconigi.
4. Castello di Racconigi
Racconigi is a small town on the plain south of Turin, in Piedmont, surrounded by fields of maize and rice and lines of poplars. It is dominated by its castle, a grand residence of the House of Savoy, which ruled Piedmont and later Italy. Originally a medieval fortress, it was transformed over the centuries into a palace, with Baroque and neoclassical façades, and surrounded by a vast park with lakes, woods and a farm. The castle is part of the UNESCO-listed Residences of the Royal House of Savoy, inscribed in 1997.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Castello di Racconigi, about halfway. Next is Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi.
5. Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi
On the southern edge of Turin, at the end of a long straight avenue lined with trees, a bronze stag stands on the dome of a palace that looks like a star dropped on the plain. The Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi was built from 1729 by the architect Filippo Juvarra for King Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy as a hunting lodge, though the word lodge hardly does justice to its grand halls, frescoed ceilings and sprawling wings. It is part of the World Heritage Site of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy, inscribed in 1997.