Rome · Tuscany Val d’Orcia Sweep

A 365 km loop from Orvieto

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Why this ride

Cypress hills, stone towns and golden light. Out of Orvieto and back again: 365 km, roughly 6 h 18 in the saddle. On the way it passes Pienza ridge roads, Val d’Orcia cypress road and Montalcino. It keeps to quiet secondary roads.

Roadbook

1. Orvieto coffee gate food

   Orvieto stands on a block of volcanic tufa that rises abruptly from the plain, a flat-topped rock with cliffs on every side and a town built to the edge of them. It is in southwestern Umbria, near the border with Lazio and Tuscany, with the Paglia river winding below. The Etruscans made it an important city, and the caves cut into the soft rock beneath the streets are still used for storing wine. In the Middle Ages, it was a papal refuge and a town of some power, and the legacy of that is the Duomo, begun in the late thirteenth century.

   The cathedral is the reason many people come, and the facade is a dazzling thing, covered in mosaics and carved reliefs, the sort of surface that changes with the light. It was built to honour a miracle at nearby Bolsena, where a host was said to have bled during Mass, and the town still celebrates Corpus Domini with a procession. Inside, the Chapel of San Brizio has frescoes by Luca Signorelli, whose depiction of the end of the world is among the most vivid of the Renaissance. Another stop is the Pozzo di San Patrizio, a deep well with a double spiral staircase, built in the sixteenth century to give the town water if it were besieged.

   Orvieto is also wine country, known for Orvieto Classico, a light and dry white wine made from grapes grown on the volcanic soils around the town. A glass with lunch is the sensible way to taste it, though perhaps not on the way to a day's riding.

   For a rider, this is a good place for a coffee and a stretch. The hill town has narrow cobbled streets and a restricted traffic zone, so most visitors park at the base and take the funicular up from the station, or leave the bike in one of the car parks below. The riding in the area is excellent, with the roads from Orvieto toward Lake Bolsena, Pitigliano and the Tuscan border running through green, rolling country with views of tufa towns and olive groves. Surfaces vary, but the traffic is light outside the high season.

   Fuel is easy, with stations at Orvieto Scalo, down by the railway, and along the main roads. Come in spring or autumn for the best conditions, and take care on wet cobbles, which are slick.

2. Pienza ridge roads sight

   Pienza ridge roads comes up 91 km in.

3. Val d’Orcia cypress road photo

   There is a stretch of white gravel road in the Val d'Orcia that climbs a gentle hill between cypress trees in a perfect zigzag, and it has become the most photographed piece of Tuscany. The trees stand in careful rows, the fields roll away in green and gold, and a farmhouse sits on the crest with the sky behind. It looks arranged, and in a sense it is, because this landscape has been shaped by farmers and landowners for centuries, and in 2004 UNESCO listed the valley as a cultural landscape for its harmony of nature and human work.

   The valley lies south of Siena, between Montalcino and Pienza, with the extinct volcano of Monte Amiata closing the horizon to the southeast. The soil here is clay, pale and crumbly, and in late summer it turns the colour of biscuit, while in spring the wheat is vivid green. Pienza, a few kilometres away, was rebuilt in the fifteenth century by Pope Pius II as an ideal Renaissance town, and its small square is an elegant lesson in proportion. Bagno Vignoni, with its steaming pool in the middle of the village, is another curiosity. The old pilgrim road, the Via Francigena, runs through the valley, and the villages of San Quirico d'Orcia and Torrenieri are stops along it.

   For riders, the main roads here are easy and gracious, with long curves, a good surface and views that open at every ridge. The famous white roads, strade bianche, are gravel, and they are fine for a careful rider on the right bike, though they can be dusty in summer and muddy after rain. Traffic is moderate, with tour buses, cyclists and photographers, and on a sunny weekend you may find cars stopped in the road for pictures. Go early or in the late afternoon, when the light is soft and the shadows long, and the hills glow.

   San Quirico d'Orcia, about three kilometres away, has shops, cafés and a lovely Romanesque church, and Torrenieri is a smaller village. For fuel, Torrenieri and Buonconvento are the nearest places, and Chianciano Terme and the towns along the main road have more. Many small farms sell olive oil, pecorino and honey at the gate.

   Do not park in the middle of the road to take your picture. Locals tolerate a lot, but a safe pull-off is better, and the view is the same from the verge.

4. Montalcino food food

   Montalcino sits on a hilltop above a sea of vineyards and olive groves, and it has been making a wine that carries its name around the world. Brunello di Montalcino is made from a local clone of the Sangiovese grape, aged for years in oak and in bottle, and in 1980 it was among the first wines in Italy to be awarded the highest quality classification, DOCG. A glass of it with a plate of cured meats or a thick stew of wild boar, called cinghiale, is the classic way to eat here, and the menu in most trattorie follows that rhythm.

   The town is small and handsome, with narrow stone streets climbing to a fourteenth-century fortress, built by Siena, that dominates the skyline. The history of the fortress holds a strange footnote. When Siena fell to Florence and its Spanish allies in 1555, a group of Sienese loyalists withdrew to Montalcino and kept the idea of the republic alive for four more years, until 1559. A short walk takes you up to the walls, and the view across the vines and the distant Monte Amiata is worth it. In the countryside to the south, the Romanesque abbey of Sant'Antimo stands in a quiet valley of olive trees, and if you arrive when the monks are singing, the sound in the stone church is memorable.

   For a rider, Montalcino is a lunch and a pause, a place to park, walk and eat slowly. The ride in from the Val d'Orcia or from Buonconvento is a series of gentle curves through vineyards, with good surfaces and open views, and the road up to the town is short and steep. Parking near the centre is limited, so use the lots at the edge and walk in. Streets are narrow and cobbled, and boots with a bit of grip help.

   Food is the reward. Besides cinghiale, look for pici, thick hand-rolled pasta served with garlic and tomato or with a rich meat sauce, and for pecorino cheese from the nearby Pienza area, often paired with honey. Many restaurants close in the afternoon, so aim for lunch before two, and book ahead on weekends and in the harvest season. If you plan to taste wine, remember that you are riding, and a sip is enough.

   Fuel is at Torrenieri and Buonconvento, and the larger town of Abbadia San Salvatore is farther away, so fill up before you climb. In the evening, the walls glow and the town quietens, which is the best hour to be there.

5. Back to Orvieto finish

   Back at Orvieto. That is the ride.

Where this sits

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