Why this ride
440 km from Piazza Armerina to Piazza Armerina, about 8 h 13 of riding. On the way it passes Militello Val di Catania, Caltagirone, Palazzolo Acreide and Modica. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Villa Romana del Casale and Modica
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 440 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 8 h 13
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Villa Romana del Casale
Somewhere in the fourth century AD, a very rich Roman, perhaps a senator or an imperial official, built a country villa in the hills of central Sicily and covered its floors with mosaics. The Villa Romana del Casale, just outside Piazza Armerina, has some of the finest and most extensive Roman floor mosaics anywhere, around 3,500 square metres, inscribed on the UNESCO list in 1997. Buried by a landslide in the Middle Ages, the villa was rediscovered and excavated mainly in the twentieth century, and the mosaics were preserved remarkably well.
Read the complete Villa Romana del Casale write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Villa Romana del Casale is where the day begins. Next is Militello Val di Catania.
2. Militello Val di Catania
Militello in Val di Catania is a small town in the hills south-west of Catania, in eastern Sicily, surrounded by orange groves and olive trees, with Mount Etna visible on the horizon. Like many towns in this part of Sicily, it was devastated by the earthquake of 1693, which destroyed much of the south-east of the island, and was rebuilt in the Baroque style. Its churches and palaces are part of the UNESCO-listed Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto, inscribed in 2002, together with Noto, Ragusa, Modica, Caltagirone and others.
Read the complete Militello Val di Catania write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Militello Val di Catania comes up 45 km in. Next is Caltagirone.
3. Caltagirone
Caltagirone is a city built on ceramics. Perched on a ridge in the hills of south-east Sicily, it has been making pottery since ancient times, and the tradition is everywhere: majolica tiles on balconies, bridges and church domes, pottery shops lining the streets and a museum devoted to the craft. Its most famous sight is the Scalinata di Santa Maria del Monte, a staircase of well over a hundred steps climbing from the lower town to a church at the top, each riser decorated with hand-painted tiles in different patterns and colours. In late July, for the feast of Saint James, the staircase is lit with thousands of oil lamps arranged in designs, a magical sight.
Read the complete Caltagirone write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
89 km in you reach Caltagirone. Next is Palazzolo Acreide.
4. Palazzolo Acreide
Long before the Baroque churches, there were the Greeks. In the seventh century BC, settlers from Syracuse founded a hilltop outpost here called Akrai, controlling the routes into the interior of Sicily. The remains of their town lie on the hill above modern Palazzolo Acreide: a small, beautifully preserved Greek theatre with views over the hills, stone quarries turned into burial chambers, and the Santoni, a series of rock-cut figures of the goddess Cybele, carved into a cliff face, weathered but still powerful.
Read the complete Palazzolo Acreide write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Palazzolo Acreide, about halfway. Next is Modica.
5. Modica
Modica was destroyed in 1693, rebuilt in a hurry, and the result is one of the most dramatic baroque towns in Europe. A great earthquake that January killed tens of thousands across south-eastern Sicily, and the towns of the Val di Noto rose again in a new style, with curved facades, carved balconies and grotesque stone faces looking down from the corners. UNESCO listed eight of them together in 2002, and Modica is one of the finest. It occupies two steep ridges and the gorge between them, and the houses climb up the sides in layers, so that a walk through the streets is mostly a matter of steps.
Read the complete Modica write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Modica sits at 179 km, about halfway. Next is back through Palazzolo Acreide.
6. back through Palazzolo Acreide
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Palazzolo Acreide write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Palazzolo Acreide comes up 223 km in. Next is back through Caltagirone.
7. back through Caltagirone
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Caltagirone write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
268 km in you reach back through Caltagirone. Next is back through Militello Val di Catania.
8. back through Militello Val di Catania
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Militello Val di Catania write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Militello Val di Catania, late in the day. Next is Villa Romana del Casale.
9. Villa Romana del Casale
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Villa Romana del Casale write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 440 km.
Leg by leg
Villa Romana del Casale to Militello Val di Catania
Villa Romana del Casale → Militello Val di Catania is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Militello Val di Catania to Caltagirone
Militello Val di Catania → Caltagirone is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Caltagirone to Palazzolo Acreide
Caltagirone → Palazzolo Acreide is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Palazzolo Acreide to Modica
Palazzolo Acreide → Modica is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Modica to back through Palazzolo Acreide
Modica → back through Palazzolo Acreide is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Palazzolo Acreide to back through Caltagirone
back through Palazzolo Acreide → back through Caltagirone is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Caltagirone to back through Militello Val di Catania
back through Caltagirone → back through Militello Val di Catania is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Militello Val di Catania to Villa Romana del Casale
back through Militello Val di Catania → Villa Romana del Casale is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.