Why this ride
A 553 km round trip from San Marco - roughly 9 h 37 in the saddle. It goes by way of Paestum, The Via Appia in the upper Bradano Valley and back through Paestum. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Punta Licosa and the Mount Stella region and The Via Appia in the upper Bradano Valley
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 553 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 9 h 37
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Punta Licosa and the Mount Stella region
According to legend, the siren Leucosia threw herself into the sea here after failing to lure Odysseus to his doom, and her body became the little island off Punta Licosa. It is a fine story for a fine place. Punta Licosa is a low, wild headland on the coast of the Cilento, south of Salerno, covered in Mediterranean scrub, pines and holm oaks, with rocky coves and clear water, and it forms part of the Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park, listed by UNESCO in 1998 as a cultural landscape. Behind it rises Monte Stella, the mountain that gives its name to the surrounding hills, dotted with small villages and terraced olive groves.
Read the complete Punta Licosa and the Mount Stella region write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Punta Licosa and the Mount Stella region is where the day begins. Next is Paestum.
2. Paestum
Paestum itself, with its three magnificent Doric temples built by Greek colonists, lies down on the coastal plain south of Salerno, and it is part of a single UNESCO listing that covers the whole Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park, together with the ancient city of Velia and the Certosa di Padula. This point is in the wild interior of that park, close to Monte Cervati, the highest mountain in Campania.
Read the complete Paestum write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Paestum comes up about 134 km into the recorded legs. Next is The Via Appia in the upper Bradano Valley.
3. The Via Appia in the upper Bradano Valley
The Via Appia, the queen of roads, ran from Rome to Brindisi, and in Basilicata it crossed the upland of the upper Bradano valley, a high, open country of wheat fields and rolling hills, near the towns of Venosa and Palazzo San Gervasio. In 2024 the Via Appia was listed as a World Heritage Site along its whole length, and here, in the empty farmland, the line of the road can be traced in field boundaries and tracks, with occasional fragments of paving and the ruins of way stations.
Read the complete The Via Appia in the upper Bradano Valley write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 276 km into the recorded legs you reach The Via Appia in the upper Bradano Valley. Next is back through Paestum.
4. back through Paestum
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Paestum write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Paestum, late in the day. Next is Punta Licosa and the Mount Stella region.
5. Punta Licosa and the Mount Stella region
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Punta Licosa and the Mount Stella region write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Punta Licosa and the Mount Stella region. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Punta Licosa and the Mount Stella region to Paestum
Punta Licosa and the Mount Stella region → Paestum is 134 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Paestum to The Via Appia in the upper Bradano Valley
Paestum → The Via Appia in the upper Bradano Valley is 142 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
The Via Appia in the upper Bradano Valley to back through Paestum
The Via Appia in the upper Bradano Valley → back through Paestum is 142 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Paestum to Punta Licosa and the Mount Stella region
back through Paestum → Punta Licosa and the Mount Stella region is 135 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.