Why this ride
From Cerreto Guidi it runs 208 km to Cerreto Guidi; allow about 3 h 38 of riding. It goes by way of Villa de Castello, Villa La Magia, Villa de la Petraia and back through Villa La Magia.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Villa de Cerreto Guidi and Villa de la Petraia
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 208 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 38
- 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
Chiantigiana Wine Road
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 31 km this is Chiantigiana Wine Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 31 km
- Named road
- Chiantigiana Wine Road
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Villa de Cerreto Guidi
Cosimo I de' Medici liked to hunt, and in the 1560s he had a villa built on a hilltop at Cerreto Guidi, on the edge of the marshes and woods west of Florence, where the game was plentiful. From the outside it is austere, a solid block of stone facing a square, but the approach is spectacular: a pair of great brick ramps, known as the Medici bridges, zigzag up to the entrance. The villa is part of the UNESCO listing of the Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany, and it holds a dark legend. Cosimo's daughter Isabella died here in 1576, and the story goes that she was murdered by her husband, Paolo Giordano Orsini, for her alleged infidelity. Whether it is true or not, it is told to every visitor.
Read the complete Villa de Cerreto Guidi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Villa de Cerreto Guidi is where the day begins. Next is Villa de Castello.
2. Villa de Castello
The Villa di Castello stands on the north-western edge of Florence, in the flat land below Monte Morello, and the huge city has grown right up to its gates. Sesto Fiorentino, a town of forty-five thousand people, is three kilometres away, and the centre of Florence a few more. The villa is one of the Medici villas that UNESCO inscribed in 2013, and it is an unusual one, because the garden is the main attraction and the house inside is plain.
Read the complete Villa de Castello write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Villa de Castello comes up about 42 km into the recorded legs. Next is Villa La Magia.
3. Villa La Magia
The Medici loved the countryside, especially when it came with hunting grounds, and Villa La Magia at Quarrata was one of their country retreats at the foot of the Montalbano hills, a few kilometres south of Pistoia. Francesco I de' Medici bought it in the sixteenth century to use as a hunting lodge, and it belongs to the World Heritage inscription for the Medici villas and gardens of Tuscany. The villa is a solid rectangular building around a courtyard, more farmhouse than palace, with a park that has become home to contemporary art installations, a rather unexpected touch for a Renaissance hunting lodge.
Read the complete Villa La Magia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 73 km into the recorded legs you reach Villa La Magia. Next is Villa de la Petraia.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is back through Villa La Magia.
5. back through Villa La Magia
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Villa La Magia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Villa La Magia sits at 128 km, about halfway. Next is back through Villa de Castello.
6. back through Villa de Castello
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Villa de Castello 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 Castello comes up about 166 km into the recorded legs. Next is Villa de Cerreto Guidi.
7. Villa de Cerreto Guidi
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Villa de Cerreto Guidi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Villa de Cerreto Guidi closes the day.
Leg by leg
Villa de Cerreto Guidi to Villa de Castello
Villa de Cerreto Guidi → Villa de Castello is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Villa de Castello to Villa La Magia
Villa de Castello → Villa La Magia is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Villa La Magia to Villa de la Petraia
Villa La Magia → Villa de la Petraia is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Villa de la Petraia to back through Villa La Magia
Villa de la Petraia → back through Villa La Magia is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Villa La Magia to back through Villa de Castello
back through Villa La Magia → back through Villa de Castello is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Villa de Castello to Villa de Cerreto Guidi
back through Villa de Castello → Villa de Cerreto Guidi is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.