Why this ride
An 86 km round trip from Barberino di Mugello - roughly 2 h 08 in the saddle. On the way it passes Villa de la Petraia, Villa de Poggio a Caiano and back through Villa de la Petraia.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Villa de Il Trebbio and Villa de Poggio a Caiano
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 86 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 08
- 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 21 km this is Chiantigiana Wine Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 21 km
- Named road
- Chiantigiana Wine Road
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Villa de Il Trebbio
The Medici came from the Mugello, and Il Trebbio is one of the places where you can see it. The family's rise to Florentine power in the fifteenth century began in these hills north of the city, among farms and woods where they held land long before they held banks and palaces. Il Trebbio is a fortified villa near San Piero a Sieve, redesigned for Cosimo the Elder by the architect Michelozzo, and its crenellated walls, tower and gardens mark it as a country retreat that is also, quietly, a statement of status. It is one of the Medici villas listed by UNESCO in 2013.
Read the complete Villa de Il Trebbio write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Villa de Il Trebbio 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 20 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
41 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 Il Trebbio.
5. Villa de Il Trebbio
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Villa de Il Trebbio 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 Il Trebbio. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Villa de Il Trebbio to Villa de la Petraia
Villa de Il Trebbio → Villa de la Petraia is 21 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 Il Trebbio
back through Villa de la Petraia → Villa de Il Trebbio is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.