Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola and Historic Centre of San Gimignano
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
287 km
Riding-time estimate
5 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.
From Borgo Tossignano it runs 287 km to Borgo Tossignano; allow about 5 h 26 of riding. It goes by way of Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany, Historic Centre of San Gimignano and back through Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
Scenic road chapters
Chiantigiana Wine Road
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 66 km this is Chiantigiana Wine Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
Length
66 km
Named road
Chiantigiana Wine Road
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola is where the day begins. Next is Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany.
2. Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany
The Medici left behind a necklace of villas around Florence, and the group of them listed by UNESCO in 2013 shows how a banking family turned itself into a ruling dynasty with the help of architecture. Humanists, painters and poets were invited to talk and eat in these gardens, which is where some of the Renaissance really happened.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany comes up about 75 km into the recorded legs. Next is Historic Centre of San Gimignano.
3. Historic Centre of San Gimignano
Seen from the surrounding countryside, San Gimignano looks like a medieval Manhattan: a cluster of stone towers rising from a hilltop above vineyards and olive groves in the Val d'Elsa. In its heyday, in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the town had dozens of them, built by rival families as symbols of power and wealth. Fourteen survive, enough to make it one of the most recognisable towns in Italy and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1990.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola to Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany
Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola → Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany is 75 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany to Historic Centre of San Gimignano
Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany → Historic Centre of San Gimignano is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Historic Centre of San Gimignano to back through Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany
Historic Centre of San Gimignano → back through Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany is 70 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany to Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola
back through Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany → Vena del Gesso Romagnola - M.te Penzola is 76 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.