Abruzzo Gran Sasso Weekend

A 318 km loop

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Why this ride

Scenery first, traffic last, with checkpoints that make sense on a bike. Out of Palombara Sabina and back again: 318 km, roughly 5 h 47 in the saddle. On the way it passes Ronciglione, Marina di Cerveteri, Torvaianica and Selcetta. The climb of the day is near Lariano. Long stretches are under trees.

Roadbook

1. Fuel stop near Palombara Sabina fuel

   Fuel at 0 km.

2. Near Ronciglione, on the way back swim

   Lago di Vico fills the crater of an old volcano in the Cimini hills, north of Rome, and it is one of the best-preserved volcanic lakes in Italy. The slopes around it are covered with beech and chestnut forest, and the lake is a nature reserve, with herons and grebes in the reeds. It sits a short hop from the lake, between Caprarola, Canepina and Carbognano, in a landscape of hazelnut orchards and woods.

   Caprarola has one of the most extraordinary buildings of the Renaissance. The Palazzo Farnese, designed by Vignola for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, is a pentagonal fortress-palace with a spiral staircase, frescoed rooms and gardens, standing at the top of a straight street that climbs through the village. It is a monument to the power and taste of one of Rome's great families.

   The Cimini hills are the heart of Italy's hazelnut country, and the orchards cover the slopes in neat rows. In autumn, the harvest is in full swing, and the smell of roasting nuts fills the air. Canepina is known for its chestnuts, and Ronciglione for its carnival, one of the oldest in Italy.

   For a swim, Lago di Vico has stretches of shore where bathing is allowed, and the water is clean and calm in summer, with the wooded crater rim all around. Parts of the lake are strictly protected, so look for the signs before wading in.

   The roads over the Cimini hills, the Via Cimina among them, wind through beech woods and hazel orchards with a good rhythm and modest traffic outside summer weekends. Ronciglione is your refuelling point; its old centre, set above a ravine, is worth a slow walk afterwards.

3. Marina di Cerveteri food

   The Etruscans buried their dead in cities of their own, and at Cerveteri, a few kilometres inland from this stop, the necropolis of the Banditaccia is one of the most remarkable archaeological sites in the Mediterranean. Hundreds of tombs, some shaped like round mounds, others like houses with streets between them, stretch across a plateau among cypress and grass. Inside, the tombs are carved to imitate rooms, with beds, chairs and household objects in stone.

   Marina di Cerveteri is the beach below, a strip of holiday homes and beach clubs along the coast between Ladispoli and Santa Severa. The sand is dark, and the sea is shallow and calm in summer. Further north, the castle of Santa Severa stands right on the beach, a medieval fortress built on an Etruscan port.

   Ladispoli, next door, is famous for its artichokes, and every spring it holds a festival in their honour. The Roman artichoke, carciofo romanesco, is round, tender and served in many ways, fried whole or braised with mint.

   This stop marks the end of the ride from the Gran Sasso, a long day of mountains and plateaus, and the coast is a welcome change. The roads from the mountains descend through the hills to the coast, and the Aurelia runs along the shore.

   Fuel is on the Aurelia. Then go straight to the sand: a beach-bar table, a plate of pasta with clams, the sun dropping into the Tyrrhenian. After the bare uplands of Abruzzo, the sea air feels thick and warm, like stepping into a bath.

4. Torvaianica photo

   Torvaianica is a seaside town on the long, straight coast south of Rome, where the Tyrrhenian Sea meets a strip of dunes, umbrella pines and beach clubs, and it is the closest real beach to much of the southern half of the city. Around seventeen thousand people live here, many more in summer, in a sprawl of holiday flats, villas and pizzerias along the coast road.

   The photo is the sea. Stand on the dunes at the end of a hot day and the sun drops straight into the water, turning the sky orange and the sand pink, while the silhouettes of pines line the horizon to the north. On a clear winter day the Circeo headland, the mountain of the sorceress Circe in the Odyssey, rises from the sea far down the coast to the south-east, looking for all the world like an island. The light is softer in spring and autumn, and the beaches are empty.

   The coast road, the Litoranea, runs north from here through the pine forest of Castel Porziano, a vast estate that belongs to the President of the Republic and is off limits, so the road is lined for kilometres with tall trees and nothing else. It is flat and fast, with long straights, but it is also popular with cyclists and has a strict speed limit, and on summer weekends it is clogged with cars heading to the beach. South of town, the coast road continues towards Anzio and Nettuno, where the Allies landed in January 1944, and where there are large war cemeteries.

   Just inland, at Pratica di Mare, lie the remains of ancient Lavinium, the town that legend says was founded by Aeneas after his flight from Troy. Archaeologists found a row of thirteen archaic altars there, and a tomb that the Romans believed was the hero's own. The town also has a darker modern story: in 1953 the body of a young woman, Wilma Montesi, was found on the beach here, and the investigation that followed became one of the great political scandals of postwar Italy.

   There are plenty of bars, restaurants and fuel stations in town, and fried fish and spaghetti with clams are the obvious choice for lunch. Pomezia, a few kilometres inland, has everything else. Come out of season, or early in the morning, and you will have the beach and the light almost to yourself.

5. Near Selcetta finish

   You are in the southern suburbs of Rome, beyond the modernist boulevards of EUR and inside the sprawl around Via Laurentina, close to the little settlement of Selcetta and not far from Trigoria, where AS Roma has its training ground. It is not a destination in itself, but it is a sensible base for rides into the Castelli Romani and further east to the Sabine hills and Abruzzo, because it puts you on the right side of the city and close to the Grande Raccordo Anulare, Rome's orbital motorway.

   The landscape here is a strange mixture of city and countryside. Apartment blocks give way suddenly to fields, umbrella pines and ruined farmhouses, and the Decima-Malafede nature reserve, a stretch of rolling Roman countryside with woods and pastures, lies just to the south-west. On a clear morning, the Alban Hills rise to the south-east, a green volcanic massif dotted with towns like Frascati, Marino and Castel Gandolfo, and that is where you are going.

   The first part of any ride from here is about getting out of the city. Roman traffic has a well-deserved reputation, and the main roads can be chaotic, with scooters, buses and impatient drivers. Leave early, ideally around dawn, when the streets are quieter and the light is soft. Once you reach the Alban Hills, the roads become more interesting, winding around the crater lakes of Albano and Nemi, through chestnut woods and vineyards, with views back over the city to the sea.

   There are plenty of fuel stations and bars in the area, so getting coffee and a cornetto before you leave is easy. At the end of the day, coming back into the city can be slow, especially on Sunday evenings when everyone returns from the hills and the coast. Take your time and stay alert. In summer, the heat in the city can be intense, so a dawn start is not just a romantic idea but a practical necessity.

6. High point near Lariano pass
7. Scenic stretch near Palestrina scenic
8. Back to Abruzzo finish

   The Sabine hills start here, a landscape of olive groves, oak woods and small limestone ridges, with Monte Gennaro, at 1,271 metres, the highest peak of the range, rising above the villages. The Romans knew this area as Sabina, and it was the home of the Sabine people.

   The ride that finishes here has crossed the Abruzzo and the Gran Sasso, so the Sabine foothills are the first sign of Rome's hinterland. The roads here are narrow and quiet, with bends along ridges and across small valleys, and the surface is generally good, though patchy near the villages. Evening light on the olive groves is the best, and the air is cool and fragrant. Traffic increases near the larger roads towards Rome, especially on weekday evenings.

   Palombara has a medieval castle, the Savelli castle, which stands over the old town, and the streets below are narrow and full of small churches. Sabina oil is among the oldest in Italy, with a long history of production, and the local farms often sell it directly. The Monti Lucretili park, a protected area of woodland and pasture, has walking routes and a rich wildlife, including wolves and wild boar, though you are unlikely to see them.

   Fuel and food are easy at Palombara Sabina, a town of just over six thousand people, with stations, shops and trattorias, and the surrounding villages have simple restaurants. Local dishes include pasta with wild boar sauce, grilled lamb and, in season, mushrooms and truffles. The nearest railway station is at Guidonia or Monterotondo, and the ride back to Rome is short.

   If you have time, take the minor road towards Monte Gennaro. The views from the foothills over the Roman campagna, with the city on the horizon, are a satisfying end to a long journey.

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