50km Rome to Lariano
Via Appia Antica
Ride Overview
Day 1 Rome to Lariano
What a place to begin a journey!
Rome! Five letters which have come to mean so much; a city, a culture, chaos. Cars, people, food. In addition, the official departure point is in front of the greatest Renaissance building in the world, St. Peter’s Basilica. Time it correctly and you might even have the Pope bless you as you clip in. What a send-off!
Cycling in Rome can be daunting. The official Cammino route heads down Corso Vittorio Emanuell II where the noise of tyres on the cobbles, the speed of the cars and the chaos of the traffic can be alarming. Better to ride on Via Giulia, a quieter street which runs parallel to the official route. Both routes arrive at the Roman Forum. There, Caesar’s hail you, modern buskers regale you and the ruins of Empire everywhere. A short distance further on, you ride past the Colesseum and the Circus Maximus before the route transforms into the via Appia Antica, ancient Rome’s most important highway. The road is closed to traffic on a Sunday which makes the experience many times more enjoyable. The riding is certainly challenging as the large basalt sets are dusty and tyres slip off their domes, but it is nonetheless thrilling to ride on the same stones as those from which the Roman Emperors set out both to conquer and trade with an Empire.
The Alban hills, a quiescent volcanic complex are the next challenge. At the top of a long road climb, you arrive at the village of Castel Gondolfo, at the centre of which is the Pope’s summer palace, with its stunning gardens, overlooking the Albano lake. Then it’s a case of riding on the dirt tracks into the chestnut woods of the Castelli Romani. The area is popular for horse riding so ride with caution. The route dips and rises, sometimes steeply, and the soft surface takes a fair amount of energy. The woods, after the bustle of Rome, are a haven of tranquility - providing you ignore the rustlings of the plentiful wild boar. The day finishes with a good downhill run into the small town of Lariano.
Ride practicalities
Ride details including recommended places to eat and stay;
START/FINISH: Rome/Lariano. DISTANCE: 50KM. TOTAL ASCENT: 933m TERRAIN AND SURFACES: flat until the climb up to Castel Gondolfo, then continuously hilly. FOOD/STAY: Casa di Santa Brigida, Piazza Farnese, Rome Restaurant and Pizzeria Bompiani, via Benedetto Bonpiani - a good local neighbourhood trattoria outside the city walls and before the tourist hotspots of the Via Appia. I stayed in Hotel Benito al Bosco, Velletri (8km off-route but it has a fabulous and famous fish restaurant. Benito has cooked for just about every significant world leader over the last 50 years). There are hotels in Lariano.
Travelling to Rome; Regional trains carry bikes for free.
What’s the best day to begin your journey?
Sunday - The Vatican is filled with pilgrims hoping to catch a glimpse of the Pope giving his weekly Angelus (address) in the Piazza of St. Peter’s Basilica and bikes are forbidden into the piazza. The whole length of the Via Appia Antica is closed to traffic making it an infinitely more pleasurable experience. However the Vatican Museum, the Catacombs and the Pope’s Summer Palace with its famed Barberini Gardens are all closed on Sundays.
Wednesday - the Pope has a weekly public audience in the Vatican every Wednesday other than in July - again bikes are not permitted anywhere near the piazza.
The Vatican will be heaving whatever day of the week you arrive. The official route heads past the Castel Sant’Angelo and then uses busy roads before arriving at the Forum.
Alternative route avoiding the very busy Corso Vittorio Emmuelle II: Ride from the Vatican down via Guilia (a quiet backstreet) to the Piazza Farnese and the Church of Santa Brigida. Since Santa Brigida is the official inspiration for this route - it was she who pilgrimaged to Ortona one summer between 1365-70. The convent has reasonably priced rooms and would be a good place to stay having travelled to Rome a night or two before you leave the city. From the Church of S. Brigida in the Piazza Farnese, continue northwards through the Campo di Fiore and onto one of the glories of Rome - The Pantheon. Continue along the route marked on the map to re-join the official CST route on traffic-free roads around the Forum and Colosseum.