CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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.
From Ariccia it runs 284 km to Ariccia; allow about 5 h 13 of riding. It goes by way of Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar, Monte Cimino and back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 72 km this is Mille Miglia Historic Route Core, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
The Romans built the Appian Way straight as a ruler across the Campagna, but when it reached the Alban Hills, the old volcanic massif south-east of Rome, even they had to bend a little. At Ariccia, the road crossed a deep valley on a huge viaduct of stone blocks, parts of which still survive, and climbed past Albano and Genzano toward Velletri and the south.
Read the complete The Via Appia across Alban Hills write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The Via Appia across Alban Hills is where the day begins. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar comes up about 72 km into the recorded legs. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 144 km into the recorded legs you reach Monte Cimino. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar, late in the day. Next is The Via Appia across Alban Hills.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Via Appia across Alban Hills write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at The Via Appia across Alban Hills. That is the ride.
The Via Appia across Alban Hills → Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar is 72 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar → Monte Cimino is 72 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Monte Cimino → back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar is 72 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tar → The Via Appia across Alban Hills is 68 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.