Why this ride
A 107 km round trip from Tivoli - roughly 2 h 18 in the saddle. The stops in between: The Via Appia in Rome, The Via Appia across Alban Hills and back through The Via Appia in Rome.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Villa d'Este and The Via Appia across Alban Hills
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 107 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 18
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Mille Miglia Historic Route Core
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 35 km this is Mille Miglia Historic Route Core, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 35 km
- Named road
- Mille Miglia Historic Route Core
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Villa d'Este
Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este, son of Lucrezia Borgia, had expected to become pope. When that did not happen, he was made governor of Tivoli and consoled himself by turning an old Benedictine convent on the hillside into a villa with a garden that would astonish Europe. Built in the sixteenth century, the Villa d'Este is a hillside of terraces, stairs and fountains, all fed by gravity from the river Aniene: the Hundred Fountains, a long wall of spouting masks and eagles, the Fountain of the Organ, which plays music driven by water, and the Oval Fountain, with its cascade falling into a pool. The villa and its gardens are a World Heritage Site.
Read the complete Villa d'Este write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Villa d'Este is where the day begins. Next is The Via Appia in Rome.
2. The Via Appia in Rome
Rome's regina viarum, the queen of roads, leaves the city through the Porta San Sebastiano and heads south-east toward Capua and eventually Brindisi. It was begun in 312 BC by the censor Appius Claudius Caecus, and the first miles out of Rome are now protected within the Parco Regionale dell'Appia Antica. The stretch of the old road is lined with tombs, ruins of villas, catacombs and umbrella pines, and the original paving stones, huge polygonal basalt blocks, still surface parts of it.
Read the complete The Via Appia in Rome 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 Rome comes up about 35 km into the recorded legs. Next is The Via Appia across Alban Hills.
3. 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
about 54 km into the recorded legs you reach The Via Appia across Alban Hills. Next is back through The Via Appia in Rome.
4. back through The Via Appia in Rome
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Via Appia in Rome 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 in Rome, late in the day. Next is Villa d'Este.
5. Villa d'Este
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Villa d'Este write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Villa d'Este. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Villa d'Este to The Via Appia in Rome
Villa d'Este → The Via Appia in Rome is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Via Appia in Rome to The Via Appia across Alban Hills
The Via Appia in Rome → The Via Appia across Alban Hills is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Via Appia across Alban Hills to back through The Via Appia in Rome
The Via Appia across Alban Hills → back through The Via Appia in Rome is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Via Appia in Rome to Villa d'Este
back through The Via Appia in Rome → Villa d'Este is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.