Heart of Italy
Tour dates:
9 -
21 June 2012
8 - 20 September 2012
The
Central Italy tour per excellence. This is Central Italy at its
best. 11 days spent riding around Classic Tuscany, Umbria,
Marche and Abruzzi. An incredible sequence of neverending
fantastic roads and amazing scenery from the rolling hills of
Tuscany to the high mountains of Umbria and of Abruzzi.
Unforgettable. If there is just one tour you can do in Italy in
your life, this should be it.
Starting
and ending in Rome we always have a double night in every town
we stay in. This allows a relaxed schedule and a rest day whenever
one needs it.
We start on a Sunday out of Rome and to reach Orvieto we
wind our way along the roads of Tuscia, once inhabited by the
preroman population known as the Etruscans. We enjoy the roads
around lake Bracciano, Cerveteri and Lake Vico. We also stop in Civita
di Bagnoregio, the enchanting "dying" village,
before reaching Orvieto a gem of a town, often the favourite stay
of the entire trip.
From
Orvieto we enjoy the great ride that sets up the visit to Assisi.
The visit to the cathedral of Saint Francis is breathtaking. The
ride back through Montefalco and Todi offers the possibility of
enjoying the Umbrian backroads and scenery.
From
Orvieto we head for Siena along the rolling hills of the
Val d'Orcia visiting Pienza, Montalcino and the small medieval
Abbey of Saint'Antimo, set amongst Brunello vineyards and olive
groves. We reach Siena in the evening and settle in for our next
two night stopover. On the loop ride out of Siena we visit
S.Gimignano, Volterra, ride the fantastic roads of the Metallifere
hills to reach the ancient and abbandoned Abbey of San Galgano,
home to our very own "sword in the rock".
Chianti
Classico is served on our way to Arezzo, but not in liquid
form. The Chianti Classico is the Tuscan area between Siena and
Florence from which this exquisite wine comes from. It offers also
amazing roads and endless rolling hills
covered in vineyards of the best quality, woodlands and olive
groves. Here and there are hill perched picturesque medieval
villages. In all a tremendous day for riding (like all others
really)...
Arezzo
isn't a tourist town, in fact not many tourist are to be found in
Arezzo. Here you get a good sense of what Tuscan real life is
about. Of course there is art and history, but the tourists hords
are missing. It also offers a great base to ride into the
Marche region on our loop ride. The loop ride takes us to Urbino,
birthplace of Valentino Rossi. The ride there and back takes us
over two incredible roads, Bocca Trabaria and Bocca Serriola.
Amazing sequences of twisty riding.
From
Arezzo we used to make our way back to Rome in previous editions,
but from now on we extend our riding and head for Norcia in
the mountains of Umbria. On the way there, we stop in Gubbio and
Camerino and reach Norcia at the foothill of the Sibillini
mountains. In June the Piano Grande of Castelluccio
will be in bloom. An amazing spectacle that we can enjoy on the
loop ride around the Sibillini mountains.
From
Norcia our next destination will be Sulmona in the heart of
Abruzzi. To reach Sulmona we cut across the Gran Sasso national
park. The Gran Sasso (Big Rock) is the highest mountain in
central Italy and the surrounding highplane offers incredible wild
scenery. One of our guests said it reminded him of South America.
Sulmona is a wonderful town with Roman remains and beautiful city
centre. Ideal as a double night stop. The loop ride takes us to
the Majella National Park. At the very top of Passo
Lanciano the views over the Adriatic sea on a clear day allow you
to see nearly across to Croatia.
From
Sulmona we head back to Rome crossing the National Park of
Abruzzi and parts of Ciociaria. We get back mid afternoon, so
as to avoid the critical rush hour traffic.
