Why this ride
A 300 km round trip from Scicli - roughly 5 h in the saddle. On the way it passes Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto, Epipolae, Catania and back through Epipolae. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Scicli and Catania
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 300 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 02
- 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. Scicli
In January 1693 an earthquake flattened much of south-eastern Sicily, and the towns that rose from the rubble were rebuilt in a confident, theatrical late baroque style. Scicli is one of the eight towns of the Val di Noto listed by UNESCO for that reason, and it may be the most charming. It sits at the meeting of three limestone gorges, with a rocky hill above crowned by the ruins of the old church of San Matteo, and a centre of honey-coloured churches and palaces whose balconies are held up by carved grotesque faces, horses, sirens and monsters.
Read the complete Scicli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Scicli is where the day begins. Next is Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto.
2. Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto
On 11 January 1693, a catastrophic earthquake struck southeastern Sicily, destroying dozens of towns and killing tens of thousands of people. What happened next is one of the great chapters in the history of town planning. Noto, which stood on a hill some kilometres away, was abandoned, and a new town was built from scratch on a gentler slope, with a grid of streets, grand stairways, churches and palaces, all in the soft, honey-coloured local limestone that glows gold and pink at sunset. Together with seven other towns rebuilt after the earthquake, including Ragusa, Modica and Scicli, Noto was listed by UNESCO in 2002 as the Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto.
Read the complete Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto comes up about 53 km into the recorded legs. Next is Epipolae.
3. Epipolae
Above Syracuse the land rises in a long limestone terrace, a triangle of high ground pointing inland, and the ancient Greeks called it Epipolae, the place above the city. Whoever held it held Syracuse. During the great Athenian expedition against the city, between 415 and 413 BC, the fight for this plateau decided the war: the Athenians tried to wall Syracuse in from here, the Syracusans and their Spartan allies built counter-walls, and in the end the Athenian army was destroyed, with thousands of prisoners left to die in the stone quarries below. A few years later the tyrant Dionysius I enclosed the entire plateau with walls many kilometres long, and at its western tip he built the Castello Eurialo, one of the most complete Greek fortresses anywhere.
Read the complete Epipolae write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 95 km into the recorded legs you reach Epipolae. Next is Catania.
4. Catania
Catania has been knocked down and rebuilt so many times that it has made a style out of resilience. Lava from Etna overran parts of the city in 1669, and then in 1693 a devastating earthquake flattened it almost entirely. The rebuilding produced one of the most striking Baroque cities in Italy, built with dark grey lava stone set off against pale limestone, with wide straight streets designed to offer escape routes in future disasters. The centre is part of the Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto World Heritage Site, and Etna looms over everything, often smoking at the end of the Via Etnea.
Read the complete Catania write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Catania, about halfway. Next is back through Epipolae.
5. back through Epipolae
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Epipolae write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Epipolae sits at 193 km, about halfway. Next is back through Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto.
6. back through Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto comes up about 249 km into the recorded legs. Next is Scicli.
7. Scicli
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Scicli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Scicli closes the day.
Leg by leg
Scicli to Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto
Scicli → Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto to Epipolae
Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto → Epipolae is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Epipolae to Catania
Epipolae → Catania is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Catania to back through Epipolae
Catania → back through Epipolae is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Epipolae to back through Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto
back through Epipolae → back through Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto to Scicli
back through Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto → Scicli is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.