Why this ride
A 186 km round trip from Venosa - roughly 3 h 29 in the saddle. On the way it passes Castel del Monte, The Appia Traiana at Canusium and the Ofan and back through Castel del Monte.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The Via Appia in the upper Bradano Valley and The Appia Traiana at Canusium and the Ofan
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 186 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 29
- 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. The Via Appia in the upper Bradano Valley
The Via Appia, the queen of roads, ran from Rome to Brindisi, and in Basilicata it crossed the upland of the upper Bradano valley, a high, open country of wheat fields and rolling hills, near the towns of Venosa and Palazzo San Gervasio. In 2024 the Via Appia was listed as a World Heritage Site along its whole length, and here, in the empty farmland, the line of the road can be traced in field boundaries and tracks, with occasional fragments of paving and the ruins of way stations.
Read the complete The Via Appia in the upper Bradano Valley write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Via Appia in the upper Bradano Valley is where the day begins. Next is Castel del Monte.
2. Castel del Monte
You see it long before you reach it: a pale stone crown sitting alone on a hilltop above the Murge plateau, visible for miles across the olive groves and wheat fields of northern Puglia. Castel del Monte was built in the 1240s for Emperor Frederick II, the brilliant and restless Hohenstaufen ruler whom contemporaries called the wonder of the world. It is perfectly octagonal, with eight octagonal towers at the corners and an octagonal courtyard in the middle, and nobody really knows what it was for. It has no moat, no stables, no obvious defensive purpose, which has fed centuries of theories about astronomy, geometry and mysticism. UNESCO listed it in 1996, and Italians carry it in their pockets: it is on the back of the one-cent euro coin.
Read the complete Castel del Monte write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Castel del Monte comes up about 47 km into the recorded legs. Next is The Appia Traiana at Canusium and the Ofan.
3. The Appia Traiana at Canusium and the Ofan
In AD 109, the emperor Trajan opened a new road from Benevento to Brindisi, shorter and easier than the old Via Appia, and it crossed the plain of northern Puglia, past the ancient city of Canusium, today's Canosa di Puglia. Near Canosa, the road crossed the Ofanto river on a bridge whose Roman foundations still support a later structure. The Appia Traiana at Canusium and the Ofanto crossing are part of the UNESCO listing of Via Appia, Regina Viarum, inscribed in 2024, and the plain around them is open, flat and fertile, a landscape of olive groves, vineyards and fields of wheat and artichokes.
Read the complete The Appia Traiana at Canusium and the Ofan write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 91 km into the recorded legs you reach The Appia Traiana at Canusium and the Ofan. Next is back through Castel del Monte.
4. back through Castel del Monte
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Castel del Monte write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Castel del Monte, late in the day. Next is The Via Appia in the upper Bradano Valley.
5. The Via Appia in the upper Bradano Valley
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Via Appia in the upper Bradano Valley write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at The Via Appia in the upper Bradano Valley. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
The Via Appia in the upper Bradano Valley to Castel del Monte
The Via Appia in the upper Bradano Valley → Castel del Monte is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Castel del Monte to The Appia Traiana at Canusium and the Ofan
Castel del Monte → The Appia Traiana at Canusium and the Ofan is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Appia Traiana at Canusium and the Ofan to back through Castel del Monte
The Appia Traiana at Canusium and the Ofan → back through Castel del Monte is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Castel del Monte to The Via Appia in the upper Bradano Valley
back through Castel del Monte → The Via Appia in the upper Bradano Valley is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.