Why this ride
A 180 km round trip from Vatican City - roughly 3 h 36 in the saddle. The stops in between: The Via Appia across Alban Hills, Appia. Regina Viarum and back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Vatican City and Via Appia. Regina Viarum
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 180 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 36
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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
Mille Miglia Historic Route Core
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 36 km this is Mille Miglia Historic Route Core, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 36 km
- Named road
- Mille Miglia Historic Route Core
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is The Via Appia across Alban Hills.
2. The Via Appia across Alban Hills
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.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Via Appia across Alban Hills comes up 43 km in. Next is Via Appia. Regina Viarum, 43 km on.
3. Via Appia. Regina Viarum
South of the Alban Hills, the Via Appia drops onto the Pontine plain and runs dead straight for mile after mile, as if the Roman engineers had laid it with a ruler, which in a sense they did. This was the Regina Viarum, the queen of roads, begun in 312 BC by the censor Appius Claudius Caecus to link Rome with Capua, and later extended to Brindisi. Here, near Sezze Scalo and Latina, the road crossed the Pontine Marshes, a malarial swamp that defeated would-be drainers from the Romans to the popes. Travellers sometimes took a canal boat alongside the road instead, and the poet Horace complained about the mosquitoes and the frogs keeping him awake on that very journey.
Read the complete Via Appia. Regina Viarum write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
86 km in you reach Via Appia. Regina Viarum. Next is back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills.
4. back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Via Appia across Alban Hills write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills, late in the day. Next is Vatican City.
5. Vatican City
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
Back at Vatican City. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Vatican City to The Via Appia across Alban Hills
Vatican City → The Via Appia across Alban Hills is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Via Appia across Alban Hills to Via Appia. Regina Viarum
The Via Appia across Alban Hills → Via Appia. Regina Viarum is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Via Appia. Regina Viarum to back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills
Via Appia. Regina Viarum → back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills to Vatican City
back through The Via Appia across Alban Hills → Vatican City is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.