The basilica of San Salvatore and Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. The basilica of San Salvatore

   Spoleto is a hill town in Umbria with a past much longer than most people expect. It was a Roman colony, then the capital of a Lombard duchy, and the Lombards, who came into Italy in the sixth century, ruled a great swathe of the peninsula from here. The basilica of San Salvatore lies just outside the old centre, below the hill, and few churches in Italy are older, dating from the fourth or fifth century and reshaped in the early Middle Ages. Its pale, plain facade looks classical, with a triple doorway and carved frieze, because its builders reused Roman fragments and copied Roman forms.

   Read the complete The basilica of San Salvatore write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   The basilica of San Salvatore is where the day begins. Next is Monte Cimino.

2. 2. Monte Cimino

   Monte Cimino is the highest point of the Cimini hills, an old volcanic range rising to just over a thousand metres between Viterbo and the Tiber valley in northern Lazio. Its top is clothed in one of the most beautiful beech forests in Italy, unusually low for beech in this latitude, and UNESCO counts these trees among Europe's ancient beech forests. On a hot summer day, climbing into its shade from the baking plain feels like entering a cathedral.

   Read the complete Monte Cimino write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Monte Cimino comes up about 83 km into the recorded legs. Next is Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar.

3. 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 155 km into the recorded legs you reach Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar. Next is back through Monte Cimino.

4. 4. back through Monte Cimino

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Monte Cimino write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Monte Cimino, late in the day. Next is The basilica of San Salvatore.

5. 5. The basilica of San Salvatore

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete The basilica of San Salvatore write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at The basilica of San Salvatore. That is the ride.