Sicily Madonie Mountain Road (72 km)
Cefalu to Petralia Soprana
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Why this ride
A one-way ride of 72 km, Cefalù to Petralia Soprana - roughly 1 h 14 in the saddle. On the way it passes Castelbuono and Piano Battaglia. The highest point is about 1,550 m. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
Roadbook
- Cefalu
start
Cefalù lies on the northern coast of Sicily, under a great rock called La Rocca that rises almost 270 metres straight behind the town. The old centre is a tight tangle of lanes between the sea and the cliff, with a sandy beach beside the harbour and fishermen's boats pulled up on the shingle. The population is about eleven thousand, and the town has all the services a rider needs, from fuel to supermarkets, with the next village, Lascari, a few kilometres east. It makes a very good start for the climb into the Madonie mountains.
Its great monument is the cathedral, begun in 1131 by the Norman king Roger II, who is said to have vowed to build it after surviving a storm at sea. The two square towers and the golden mosaics inside, especially the huge Christ Pantocrator in the apse, are among the finest Byzantine-style works in the Norman kingdom of Sicily. Together with the cathedrals of Palermo and Monreale, it is part of a UNESCO World Heritage listing. Beyond the town, the Rocca has the remains of a medieval castle and a path that leads to the top for a superb view.
For the ride, the point is to get out of town early, because the coast road can be busy and the mountains are cooler and quieter. The road south climbs through Gratteri and the foothills into the Madonie Regional Park, with hairpins, beech woods and stone villages. The surface in Sicily can be rough, with potholes and patched asphalt, and local drivers are quick and sometimes erratic, so keep your distance. The best seasons are spring, when the hills are green and the wildflowers are out, and autumn, when the heat has gone.
Cefalù has plenty of places to eat, and the local cooking uses fish, capers, olives and wild fennel. Start the day with a granita and a brioche, or a cappuccino at a table on the square by the cathedral. Fill the tank here before you head into the hills, since the villages in the park are small and pumps are not frequent. The sea behind you gets smaller with each bend, and the mountains rise ahead.
- Castelbuono
scenic
Castelbuono is the main town of the Madonie, the range that rises behind the northern coast of Sicily, and it wears its history on its sleeve. A big square castle stands at the heart of the town, built in the fourteenth century by the Ventimiglia family, who were the powerful lords of this part of Sicily and ruled the surrounding country for generations. Inside the castle, a chapel dedicated to Sant'Anna, richly decorated with white stucco, holds a relic that is carried through the town in procession each year, and a small museum shows the story of the family and the region.
The town has a reputation for food as much as history. It is one of the few places in the world where manna is still harvested, a sweet sap tapped from the trunks of the flowering ash trees, which dries into white sticks used in confectionery and, traditionally, as a gentle remedy. It is a very old craft, handed down in families, and the town celebrates it in pastry and ice cream. The cakes and sweets of Castelbuono are sold in shops all along the main street, and it is hard to walk through the town without being tempted.
The Madonie are the high mountains of the region, with peaks of nearly two thousand metres and forests of oak, beech and holly. Much of the range is a regional park, protecting rare plants and wildlife, including golden eagles and wild cats. The roads climbing into the mountains from Castelbuono are some of the best riding in northern Sicily: narrow, twisting and quiet, with views of the coast far below. The surface is variable, with some very smooth stretches and others that are broken by frost and landslides, so look well ahead. In summer it is hot on the plain and pleasantly cool on the high ground.
Castelbuono has all the services you need. There are fuel stations on the approach roads, supermarkets, restaurants and cafes around the main square, and a few hotels and agriturismi in the surrounding countryside. A plate of pasta with local sausage and wild fennel, or a slice of sfincione, the thick Sicilian pizza, is a fine pause. The town is lively in the evening, with the local people out for a passeggiata, the traditional stroll before dinner.
Come in spring, when the hills are green and the wildflowers are out, or in autumn, when the beech woods turn gold and the air is fresh.
- Piano Battaglia
scenic · 1572 m
Piano Battaglia is the roof garden of Sicily's northern mountains, a high, open basin at about fifteen hundred metres where the road runs out of village and into the clouds. The Madonie rise around it in bare limestone ridges, with Pizzo Carbonara at nearly two thousand metres the highest of them, and the whole area feels more like the Apennines than a Mediterranean island. In winter, snow falls here, and there is a small ski area with a couple of lifts, one of the few in Sicily outside Etna. In summer, the plateau is a grassy open space dotted with cattle and walkers.
The ride up from Castelbuono or from the villages on the northern side, Isnello and Collesano, is a pleasure of a particular kind. The road climbs through terraces of olive and almond, then through oak woods, and finally through open beech forest, with a series of bends and a handful of hairpins that give good views down to the coast. The surface can be patchy and in places rough from frost, and there are sometimes loose stones and the odd cow on the tarmac, so keep a careful pace. In misty weather the visibility is poor and the temperature drops quickly. The road may be closed in heavy snow, and chains or winter tyres are necessary in cold months.
Nature is the great attraction. The Madonie park is home to a rare tree, the Sicilian fir, which grows only here in the world and has been reduced to a few dozen mature trees in a valley nearby. It is a survivor from the Ice Age, and conservation efforts are trying to bring it back. In spring the meadows are covered with wild orchids, peonies and cyclamens, and in autumn the beech woods turn from green to gold. Birds of prey, including golden eagles and buzzards, are common above the ridges.
There are a few small restaurants and refuges around the plain, serving hearty mountain food, such as grilled sausages, cheese and ricotta, but opening hours are seasonal and unreliable, so it is wise to bring something. Castelbuono, about nine kilometres away by straight line and much more by road, is the nearest large town with stations and supermarkets, so fill before you go up.
Weather is the main variable. Wind and fog can arrive without notice, and the air is much cooler than on the coast, so bring a layer even in July.
- Petralia Soprana
finish
Petralia Soprana is the highest town in the Madonie, perched at around 1,100 metres on a rocky spur, and it has the reputation of being one of the finest hill towns in Sicily. Its twin, Petralia Sottana, lies just under two kilometres away, a little lower and larger, with about twice the population. Soprana is the smaller and older of the two, and it keeps a medieval layout of steep stepped lanes, small piazzas and stone houses with wrought-iron balconies. Its Norman history is deeper than most: Count Roger I is said to have made it a base in the eleventh century during the conquest of the island from the Arabs.
From the main square, Piazza del Popolo, you can look across the whole range, and on clear days toward the cone of Etna in the east. Churches are plentiful, including the Chiesa Madre with a carved wooden crucifix and the church of Santa Maria di Loreto, which has a terrace with a long view. It is a town to walk slowly, in part because the streets are steep and in part because there is little to do but look. In the summer there are festivals, and in winter the town can see snow, since the Madonie are the snowiest mountains in Sicily.
The ride up from the coast is a delight in its own way. The road climbs through cork oak, then chestnut and beech, and you pass from the dry Mediterranean scrub of the coast to cool upland woods. The Madonie are a regional park, home to the rare Nebrodi fir, the Abies nebrodensis, of which only a tiny number survive in the wild. The surface is variable, with some very good stretches and others broken, and sheep, cows and dogs wander on to the road without warning. Mist can come down suddenly in the forests, and in winter ice is a real hazard.
Fuel is thin on the ground in the hills, so take it in Cefalù or at Petralia Sottana, the larger of the two. In both towns, you can find simple trattorias serving local sausage, ricotta, mushrooms and pasta with wild greens, the kind of food that suits a cool mountain evening. The late afternoon light on the stone is lovely, and a coffee on the terrace is the proper way to end the ride.