Why this ride
187 km from Riomaggiore to Riomaggiore, about 3 h 24 of riding. On the way it passes Isola del Tino, Palais de Seravezza and back through Isola del Tino. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Portovenere and Palais de Seravezza
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 187 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 24
- 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
Liguria Coastal Road
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 26 km this is Liguria Coastal Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 26 km
- Named road
- Liguria Coastal Road
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Portovenere
Portovenere is a pastel row of tall houses stacked along the water's edge, their backs forming a kind of sea wall, and at the end of the promontory a black-and-white striped church on a rock. The church of San Pietro, begun in the twelfth century in the Genoese Gothic style, stands on the foundations of an older sanctuary that was supposedly a temple of Venus, the goddess who gave the town its name, and the whole point of the place leans out into the Ligurian Sea. Across a narrow strait lie the islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto, part of the same World Heritage listing that covers the Cinque Terre. Byron is said to have swum across the bay to visit Shelley at Lerici, and a cave below the church carries his name.
Read the complete Portovenere write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Portovenere is where the day begins. Next is Isola del Tino.
2. Isola del Tino
Isola del Tino is an island you are almost never allowed to visit. It lies just off the southern tip of the Ligurian coast, a short distance beyond Portovenere and the island of Palmaria, and it belongs to the Italian navy, which keeps it as a military zone. The one exception is the feast of San Venerio, on the thirteenth of September, when boats ferry visitors across and the public may walk on the island for the day. Venerius was a hermit who lived on the island, and the ruins of a medieval monastery built in his honour stand among the pines and rocks.
Read the complete Isola del Tino write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Isola del Tino comes up about 26 km into the recorded legs. Next is Palais de Seravezza.
3. Palais de Seravezza
Seravezza is where the Apuan Alps meet the Versilia coast in northern Tuscany. Behind the beaches of Forte dei Marmi, the mountains rise abruptly, white with marble scars, and Seravezza sits at the mouth of a valley where two rivers join. The Palazzo Mediceo, built in the 1560s for Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, was a summer residence and a base for overseeing the region's marble quarries and silver mines. It is one of the Medici villas and gardens inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2013, and today it hosts museums and exhibitions.
Read the complete Palais de Seravezza write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 92 km into the recorded legs you reach Palais de Seravezza. Next is back through Isola del Tino.
4. back through Isola del Tino
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Isola del Tino write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Isola del Tino, late in the day. Next is Portovenere.
5. Portovenere
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Portovenere write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Portovenere. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Portovenere to Isola del Tino
Portovenere → Isola del Tino is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Isola del Tino to Palais de Seravezza
Isola del Tino → Palais de Seravezza is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Palais de Seravezza to back through Isola del Tino
Palais de Seravezza → back through Isola del Tino is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Isola del Tino to Portovenere
back through Isola del Tino → Portovenere is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.