Why this ride
A 303 km round trip from Carovigno - roughly 4 h 45 in the saddle. The stops in between: Brundisium, Quartiere Aja Piccola, Tarentum and back through Quartiere Aja Piccola. It keeps close to the shore for long stretches.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The Appia Traiana along the Adriatic coast and Tarentum
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 303 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 45
- 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
The Appia Traiana along the Adriatic coast → Brundisium
Slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did. Water arrives beside the road and stays for 35 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 28 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. The Appia Traiana along the Adriatic coast
Between Ostuni and Brindisi, along the Adriatic coast of Puglia, ran the Via Appia Traiana, a road built by the emperor Trajan in the early second century as a faster alternative to the old Appian Way, carrying traffic to the port of Brundisium, the gateway to Greece and the East. In 2024, stretches of both roads were inscribed by UNESCO as Via Appia, Regina Viarum. Here the old route followed the coastal plain through olive groves, and traces of it, together with ancient settlements, can be found near the sea.
Read the complete The Appia Traiana along the Adriatic coast write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Appia Traiana along the Adriatic coast is where the day begins. Next is Brundisium.
2. Brundisium
Brindisi is where the Appian Way ends, and the Romans knew it as Brundisium. The old road ran from Rome across southern Italy to this harbour, the gateway to Greece and the East, and a tall Roman column near the waterfront marks its final stretch; a second column stood beside it until it was taken to Lecce in the seventeenth century. The harbour itself is a long, sheltered inlet, a natural port that has served merchants, crusaders and armies for more than two thousand years.
Read the complete Brundisium write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Brundisium comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Quartiere Aja Piccola.
3. Quartiere Aja Piccola
Alberobello is famous for its trulli, the little whitewashed stone houses with grey conical roofs that look as if they belong in a children's book. They stand in thousands across the Itria valley in Puglia, but in the town of Alberobello they come in two dense clusters on opposite hillsides, and the quarter called Aia Piccola is the quieter of the two. It holds around four hundred trulli, climbing a gentle slope, and unlike its showier neighbour across the valley, it is still mostly residential, with washing on lines, geraniums in pots and the occasional shop selling local cheese and wine. UNESCO listed the town in 1996.
Read the complete Quartiere Aja Piccola write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 104 km into the recorded legs you reach Quartiere Aja Piccola. Next is Tarentum.
4. Tarentum
Taranto is a city between two seas. The old town sits on a small island between the Mar Grande, an open bay of the Gulf of Taranto, and the Mar Piccolo, an inner lagoon, connected to the mainland by bridges, including a swing bridge that opens to let warships pass into the naval base. Founded by Spartan colonists in the eighth century BC as Taras, it became one of the richest and most powerful cities of Magna Graecia, the Greek world in southern Italy, before falling to Rome.
Read the complete Tarentum write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tarentum, about halfway. Next is back through Quartiere Aja Piccola.
5. back through Quartiere Aja Piccola
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Quartiere Aja Piccola write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Quartiere Aja Piccola sits at 220 km, about halfway. Next is back through Brundisium.
6. back through Brundisium
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Brundisium write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Brundisium comes up about 274 km into the recorded legs. Next is The Appia Traiana along the Adriatic coast.
7. The Appia Traiana along the Adriatic coast
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Appia Traiana along the Adriatic coast write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Appia Traiana along the Adriatic coast closes the day.
Leg by leg
The Appia Traiana along the Adriatic coast to Brundisium
The Appia Traiana along the Adriatic coast → Brundisium is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Brundisium to Quartiere Aja Piccola
Brundisium → Quartiere Aja Piccola is 76 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Quartiere Aja Piccola to Tarentum
Quartiere Aja Piccola → Tarentum is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tarentum to back through Quartiere Aja Piccola
Tarentum → back through Quartiere Aja Piccola is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Quartiere Aja Piccola to back through Brundisium
back through Quartiere Aja Piccola → back through Brundisium is 78 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Brundisium to The Appia Traiana along the Adriatic coast
back through Brundisium → The Appia Traiana along the Adriatic coast is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.