Why this ride
From Scarperia it runs 90 km to Scarperia; allow about 2 h 06 of riding. The stops in between: Villa de la Petraia, Villa de Poggio a Caiano and back through Villa de la Petraia.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Villa de Cafaggiolo and Villa de Poggio a Caiano
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 90 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 06
- 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
Chiantigiana Wine Road
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 23 km this is Chiantigiana Wine Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 23 km
- Named road
- Chiantigiana Wine Road
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Villa de Cafaggiolo
In the green bowl of the Mugello, north of Florence, the Medici family kept a house long before they ruled the city. Cafaggiolo was an old family property, and around the middle of the fifteenth century Cosimo the Elder had the architect Michelozzo transform it into a fortified country villa, with battlements, a tower and a moat, a cross between a castle and a farmhouse. Lorenzo the Magnificent spent time here as a boy, and the villa became a favourite retreat for hunting and escaping the plague in the city. It is one of the Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany listed by UNESCO, and visits depend on current restoration and opening arrangements, so check before you arrive.
Read the complete Villa de Cafaggiolo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Villa de Cafaggiolo is where the day begins. Next is Villa de la Petraia.
2. Villa de la Petraia
La Petraia stands on the slope above Castello, on the north-western edge of Florence, and the first thing you notice is its tower, a leftover from the medieval fortress that stood here before the Medici made it a villa. Ferdinando de' Medici bought it in the 1560s and had Buontalenti reshape it, keeping the tower and building around it, so that the house looks like a small castle that learned manners. The garden below is laid out in terraces, with a fountain topped by a Venus wringing out her hair, a famous work by Giambologna.
Read the complete Villa de la Petraia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Villa de la Petraia comes up 21 km in. Next is Villa de Poggio a Caiano.
3. Villa de Poggio a Caiano
Of all the Medici villas, Poggio a Caiano is the one that changed architecture. Lorenzo the Magnificent commissioned it from Giuliano da Sangallo in the 1480s, and the result was something new: a country house raised on an arcaded platform, with a portico topped by a classical pediment, the first time a temple front had been put on a private villa since antiquity. Palladio would develop the idea in the Veneto decades later. Inside, the great hall is decorated with frescoes by Andrea del Sarto, Pontormo and others, and Pontormo's lunette of Vertumnus and Pomona, with its lazy figures lounging on a wall, is one of the most charming paintings of the Renaissance. The villa is part of the UNESCO listing of the Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany.
Read the complete Villa de Poggio a Caiano write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
43 km in you reach Villa de Poggio a Caiano. Next is back through Villa de la Petraia.
4. back through Villa de la Petraia
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Villa de la Petraia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Villa de la Petraia, late in the day. Next is Villa de Cafaggiolo.
5. Villa de Cafaggiolo
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Villa de Cafaggiolo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Villa de Cafaggiolo. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Villa de Cafaggiolo to Villa de la Petraia
Villa de Cafaggiolo → Villa de la Petraia is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Villa de la Petraia to Villa de Poggio a Caiano
Villa de la Petraia → Villa de Poggio a Caiano is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Villa de Poggio a Caiano to back through Villa de la Petraia
Villa de Poggio a Caiano → back through Villa de la Petraia is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Villa de la Petraia to Villa de Cafaggiolo
back through Villa de la Petraia → Villa de Cafaggiolo is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.