64km Capestrano to Pretoro
Corvara
Day 5
Route overview
The last day of rough mountainous tracks. There are two surprising religious delights on the route - an embalmed body of a young man who has become Italy’s newest saint and lies embalmed in a glass case, and the face of Christ which the faithful believe was miraculously printed onto a cloth which wiped away his sweat and blood as he stumbled to his crucifixion. Even if you’d normally eschew such things, do stop; they are objects of curiosity and their stories are compelling. During the day, you’ll see the sea, and you’ll see the highest peaks of the Apennines - which for seven months of the year are covered in snow. It is an awesome ride.
From Capestrano, it’s a downhill start to the day through vineyards to Capodacqua, a lake where the water is said to be the clearest in Europe. You ride through some of the most prized vineyards of the region which may not be enough of a distraction from the massive mountain wall ahead. At the col of Forca di Penne, pause awhile and enjoy the view of the highest peaks of the Apennines as well as the sea glinting far away.
From the pass, the road again becomes a track which heads past Pescosansonesco, a village with not only the most unpronounceable name of the whole trip, but one which has been built on a vertical cliff. Most of the homes were abandoned after the earthquake and subsequent landslides in the 1940s. In the new village, some three kilometres away, stands a modern church - the Sanctuary of Saint Nunzio Sulprizio. His embalmed body is still displayed in a glass casket.
Finally, after a joyous free-wheeled descent, you arrive at Torre de’ Passeri and the high mountains are behind you. The route continues through vineyards and olive groves along the Pescara valley. It’s all very bucolic and lovely. At Scafa, the road heads up into the hills, where at Manopello is another extraordinary religious relic - the Veronica Veil on which is imprinted the face of a man. The faithful hold that it is the true face of Christ which miraculously appeared after the cloth had wiped away his sweat and blood on his final walk to his crucifixion. Of the many urban myths surrounding the object, one claims it to be a very early photograph, possibly taken by Leonardo da Vinci. Whatever you believe, the compelling, even mesmerising face that stares back at you, is quite extraordinary. The day ends at Pretoro, another village of tiny alleys and cliff hugging houses.
Ride practicalities
START/FINISH: Capestrano/Pretoro. DISTANCE: 64km. TOTAL ASCENT: 1734m TERRAIN AND SURFACES: Mountainous with a mix of white gravel roads, small country lanes and muddy tracks around fields. CST signage is again patchy. FOOD/STAY: There are very few options until you reach Torre de’ Passeri and Scafa, where there are plenty of restaurants and some hotels. Manoppello and Pretoro both have bars and restaurants. There is limited accommodation in Pretoro - an option is to continue following the route downhill on exhilarating tracks to Rapino, where there is good lodging in Il Tiglio in the centre of Rapino village.