Why this ride
348 km from Fognano to Fognano, about 6 h 26 of riding. It goes by way of Gessi Bolognesi, Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola, Baraccano and back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro and Baraccano
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 348 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 26
- 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. Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro
Driving through the hills of Romagna, south of Faenza, you notice a long, pale ridge cutting across the valleys like a wall. This is the Vena del Gesso Romagnola, a band of gypsum rock about twenty-five kilometres long, and Monte Mauro is its highest point, rising above the villages of Riolo Terme, Brisighella and Fognano. The ridge is now a regional park and part of the UNESCO site for the evaporitic karst of the northern Apennines.
Read the complete Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro is where the day begins. Next is Gessi Bolognesi.
2. Gessi Bolognesi
Ride south out of Bologna and within ten minutes the city's suburbs give way to something surprising: a range of low hills made of gypsum, a soft, crystalline rock that dissolves in water and forms caves, sinkholes and strange, shiny outcrops. These are the Gessi Bolognesi, a protected regional park between the Savena and Idice valleys, and in 2023 they became part of the UNESCO site for the evaporitic karst and caves of the northern Apennines.
Read the complete Gessi Bolognesi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gessi Bolognesi comes up about 62 km into the recorded legs. Next is Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola, 38 km on.
3. Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola
The Santerno valley climbs south from Imola into the Apennines toward Tuscany, and about fifteen kilometres up, the river cuts through a ridge of shining grey-white rock. This is the western end of the Vena del Gesso Romagnola, the gypsum vein that runs across this part of Romagna, and Monte Penzola rises above the village of Borgo Tossignano, with Fontanelice and Casalfiumanese nearby.
Read the complete Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 118 km into the recorded legs you reach Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola. Next is Baraccano.
4. Baraccano
Baraccano is not a village, it is a corner of Bologna: a gate in the old thirteenth-century walls where the Via Santo Stefano runs out of the centre. The name comes from the barbican that once defended it. Next to the gate stands the small sanctuary of the Madonna del Baraccano, a Renaissance church whose fresco of the Virgin drew pilgrims after a reported miracle, and beside it a lovely little courtyard, a place most visitors walk straight past on the way to the Two Towers.
Read the complete Baraccano write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Baraccano, about halfway. Next is back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola, 38 km on.
5. back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola sits at 152 km, about halfway. Next is back through Gessi Bolognesi.
6. back through Gessi Bolognesi
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gessi Bolognesi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Gessi Bolognesi comes up about 290 km into the recorded legs. Next is Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro, 38 km on.
7. Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro closes the day.
Leg by leg
Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro to Gessi Bolognesi
Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro → Gessi Bolognesi is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gessi Bolognesi to Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola
Gessi Bolognesi → Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola to Baraccano
Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola → Baraccano is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Baraccano to back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola
Baraccano → back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola to back through Gessi Bolognesi
back through Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola → back through Gessi Bolognesi is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gessi Bolognesi to Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro
back through Gessi Bolognesi → Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Mauro is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.