Why this ride
From Riomaggiore it runs 455 km to Riomaggiore; allow about 7 h 14 of riding. The stops in between: Palais de Seravezza, Isola del Tinetto, Piazza del Duomo and back through Isola del Tinetto. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Portovenere and Piazza del Duomo
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 455 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 14
- 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 69 km this is Liguria Coastal Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 69 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 Palais de Seravezza.
2. 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
Palais de Seravezza comes up about 69 km into the recorded legs. Next is Isola del Tinetto.
3. Isola del Tinetto
Three islands trail off the tip of the Porto Venere peninsula like stepping stones: Palmaria, the largest, then Tino, and finally the Tinetto, a bare rock with the ruins of an early medieval monastic settlement and a small lighthouse beacon. Together with Porto Venere and the Cinque Terre, they form a World Heritage Site, listed for the way people shaped this rugged coast with terraces, villages and fortifications. The Tinetto is home to a rare lizard found only on these islands, and the waters around are rich in marine life.
Read the complete Isola del Tinetto write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 136 km into the recorded legs you reach Isola del Tinetto. Next is Piazza del Duomo.
4. Piazza del Duomo
Nothing prepares you for that first glimpse through the gateway. A wide green lawn, and set on it like ornaments on a cloth, the white marble cathedral, the round baptistery, the cemetery cloister of the Camposanto, and of course the bell tower, leaning at an angle that looks wrong no matter how many photographs you have seen. The Piazza del Duomo in Pisa, also called the Field of Miracles, was one of the first places in Italy to be listed by UNESCO, back in 1987.
Read the complete Piazza del Duomo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Piazza del Duomo, about halfway. Next is back through Isola del Tinetto.
5. back through Isola del Tinetto
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Isola del Tinetto 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 Tinetto sits at 230 km, about halfway. Next is back through Palais de Seravezza.
6. back through Palais de Seravezza
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Palais de Seravezza comes up about 383 km into the recorded legs. Next is Portovenere.
7. 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
Portovenere closes the day.
Leg by leg
Portovenere to Palais de Seravezza
Portovenere → Palais de Seravezza is 69 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Palais de Seravezza to Isola del Tinetto
Palais de Seravezza → Isola del Tinetto is 67 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Isola del Tinetto to Piazza del Duomo
Isola del Tinetto → Piazza del Duomo is 91 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Piazza del Duomo to back through Isola del Tinetto
Piazza del Duomo → back through Isola del Tinetto is 90 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Isola del Tinetto to back through Palais de Seravezza
back through Isola del Tinetto → back through Palais de Seravezza is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Palais de Seravezza to Portovenere
back through Palais de Seravezza → Portovenere is 71 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Palais de Seravezza and Portovenere · 164 km
- Piazza del Duomo and Isola del Tino · 367 km