50km Winter on the Trabocchi Coast
Trabocco, Punta Aderci
A winter ride on Abruzzo’s UNESCO Heritage Coast
Ride Abruzzo’s UNESCO Heritage Coast in winter and you will find swathes of golden sand and sparkling pebbles quietly whispering with the waves. The beaches will be emptied of their umbrellas and sun worshippers, the air will smell clean and and the soft browns and greys of the land will mingle with the blues of the sea and sky. At this time, the cycle path will be yours to ride without having to worry about sun-soaked, dreamy people drifting across your path. But a relaxed winter ride means too, that many of the restaurants are closed for the season, so that you are more likely to reach the end of the ride in time for lunch which should be the dish for which the coast is famed; brodetto vastese.
Ride details
START/FINISH: Ortona. DISTANCE: 50KM. TOTAL ASCENT: 499m TERRAIN AND SURFACES: flat until Punta Aderci. Short climb up to Vasto. FOOD: Restaurants and cafes along the route. The towns of San Vito Chietino, Fosacessia, Vasto and Ortona will be the best best. Recommended; San Vito Chietino; L'Angolino Da Filippo1891Via Sangritana, 1, 66035 San Vito Chietino CH, Italy, +39 0872 61632, Fosacessia: Ristorante da Rocco,: Via Lungomare, 7, 66022 Fossacesia CH, +39 0872 607766 , Vasto port; Ristorante da Ferri Via Osca, 82, Genova-Rulli, 66054 Vasto CH, +390873310320. (excellent brodetto vastese) Vasto town; Castello Aragona, Via S. Michele, 105, 66054 Vasto CH, Phone, +39087369885, Il Re Pescatore, Corso Dante Alighieri, 56, 66054 Vasto CH +390873363054
Bikes are free on the regular trains from Vasto to Ortona - they run every hour and take 34 minutes.
Ortona's lighthouse
Ride details
Set out from Ortona’s lighthouse, beneath the castle and the cliffs where there is a nearby train station and ample free car parking. There is no navigating to the start, for the Via Verde, begins right here. You’ll soon be past the small port and into a series of well-lit tunnels before the wide open sea spreads out before you. Choose a cold and sunny day and you’ll find the pure light inspiring you to paint or write poems! The kestrel coloured sea-grass will wave in the breeze and the leaves of the giant reeds will rustle as you roll happily along. Seagulls will look like stars upon the waters. As you approach the small town of San Vito Chietino, you’ll pass the first of 32 trabocchi.
Abruzzo’s UNESCO Heritage Trabocchi Coast
The trabocchi resemble a colossal spider - all legs and web striding out to sea. From the shore a swinging wooden pathway leads to a simple wooden hut from which beams, ropes and a giant net dangle above the waves, resembling the yards and rigging of an old ship of-the-line. As structures go, they are mysterious, magical and practical. The fishing platforms originated it is thought, with the Phoenicians over 2,000 years ago, but these on the Adriatic date only from the 18th century. They mirror others across the Indian Ocean on the Malabar coast. No one knows if the Mediterranean influenced the Indians or the other way round. They are no longer used for fishing and most have been converted into restaurants, although you’ll be hard pushed to find one open in winter.
Trabocco at Punta Aderci
Roll on towards the Bay of Venus and Fossacesia, where there are a selection of bars open for coffee. Continue on towards Vasto, through the resorts of Torino di Sangro and Casalbordino, both shuttered up for the winter and giving a meloncholic air. After Le Morge, the cycle path runs out of tarmac and takes on its new gravel guise, which is fitting as we now enter national nature reserves of Holm Oaks, pines and lagoons. Gone now are the infrastructures of the Adriatic and wilder, more natural ride continues. The route becomes a little hillier too and crests the locally famous view point of Punta Aderci. From the promontory the magic of Abruzzo can be seen in one sweep - that of the snow covered peaks on one side and the deep blue sea on the other. It is a hard spot to leave. Below cliffs, towards the port is perhaps the most lovely beach in all of Abruzzo. Golden sand, without the rows of umbrellas and sun-loungers. In winter, it is a well known spot for bird watching; Kentish plovers, the rare Great Bitterns, Stonechats, Great Tits, Kestrels, Marsh Harriers, and Sparrow Hawks have all been seen here. Nearby is a beautiful trabocco and pointing up towards the sky, Italy’s second tallest lighthouse. Here too, is the Ristorante da Ferri, which serves amongst other great seafood dishes, brodetto vastese for which people drive from far and wide to enjoy.
Italy's second highest lighthouse, Port Vasto
Once past the port there is a short section of road riding, which is not too busy at this time of year, before you once again re-join the cycle path towards Vasto. At the end of the cycle track you continue towards the main road, where at the roundabout, you take the via Gaetano Donizetti up the hill, to the journey’s end. If you have made it here in time for lunch, seek out one of the many restaurants in town. After lunch, take a stroll around the Roman ruins scattered around the town, snooze on a cliff-top bench overlooking the huge curve of the bay and when the day is done, take the train back to Ortona.
Ortona's Aragonese Castle
Every route on this website has been carefully researched as well as ridden. However situations on the ground can change quickly. If you know of changes to this route, or cafes, pubs and the like which you think other cyclists need to know about, feel free to share your thoughts below.
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