Why this ride
A 236 km round trip from Tarquinia - roughly 4 h 52 in the saddle. The stops in between: Monte Raschio, Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar, Vatican City and back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Tarquinia and Vatican City
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 236 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 52
- 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. Tarquinia
Tarquinia sits on a hill a few kilometres inland from the Tyrrhenian coast, in the northern tip of Lazio where the land starts to feel more like Tuscany. The town was called Corneto until 1922, when it took back the name of the Etruscan city of Tarchna that once stood on the neighbouring plateau. The old centre is tight, brownish stone, medieval towers, and a few good small piazzas; the main reason people come, though, lies on the Monterozzi ridge just outside, where the Etruscans built their necropolis.
Read the complete Tarquinia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tarquinia is where the day begins. Next is Monte Raschio.
2. Monte Raschio
Beech trees usually need altitude and cool weather in central Italy, so it is a surprise to find a beech forest at only about five hundred metres on Monte Raschio, a low volcanic hill near Oriolo Romano, north-west of Rome. The forest survives here thanks to a local microclimate, with humidity from Lake Bracciano and the volcanic soils, and it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, a site that spans many countries.
Read the complete Monte Raschio write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Monte Raschio comes up about 45 km into the recorded legs. Next is Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar.
3. Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar
The Etruscans built their houses of wood and mud brick, which is why so few survive, and they built their tombs of rock, which is why we know them best through their dead. The Banditaccia necropolis at Cerveteri, north-west of Rome, is a city of tombs: great round tumuli covered in grass, cut into the volcanic tufa and laid out along streets, with chambers inside carved to look like houses, with beds, chairs, columns and beams. The necropolis, together with the painted tombs of Tarquinia further north, was listed by UNESCO in 2004, and walking its lanes is one of the most atmospheric experiences in central Italy.
Read the complete Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 76 km into the recorded legs you reach Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar. Next is Vatican City.
4. Vatican City
The smallest state in the world is about forty-four hectares of walled hill on the right bank of the Tiber, and somehow it contains the largest church in Christendom, one of the greatest art collections ever assembled and a population that would barely fill a village. The Vatican exists as an independent country since the Lateran Treaty of 1929 between the Holy See and Mussolini's Italy, but the popes have been building here for far longer. St Peter's Basilica stands over the traditional site of the apostle's grave, and its dome, designed by Michelangelo, dominates the skyline of western Rome. Bernini's colonnade, sweeping round the square like two great arms, was meant to embrace every visitor who arrived.
Read the complete Vatican City write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Vatican City, about halfway. Next is back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar.
5. back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar sits at 151 km, about halfway. Next is back through Monte Raschio.
6. back through Monte Raschio
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Monte Raschio write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Monte Raschio comes up about 191 km into the recorded legs. Next is Tarquinia.
7. Tarquinia
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tarquinia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tarquinia closes the day.
Leg by leg
Tarquinia to Monte Raschio
Tarquinia → Monte Raschio is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Monte Raschio to Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar
Monte Raschio → Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar to Vatican City
Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar → Vatican City is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Vatican City to back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar
Vatican City → back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar to back through Monte Raschio
back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar → back through Monte Raschio is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Monte Raschio to Tarquinia
back through Monte Raschio → Tarquinia is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.