Southern Italy Delights & Twisties CUI2501
Full of anticipation and excited about the days ahead, the guests arrive in Florence throughout the day and thus also at our starting hotel. The tour guides delivered the motorcycles, gave them a polish and prepared everything for a relaxed start to the tour. The obligatory welcome briefing, full information and one or two safety instructions were of course also included. As soon as the paperwork was completed, our guests were finally able to familiarize themselves with the motorcycles they had chosen and had every question answered about the various functions and where to find them (some of them are really well hidden). There was a great deal of excitement and the odd picture was taken with the bikes and sent to friends and family. Afterwards, we ended the evening with a relaxed dinner together and waited eagerly for the first day of riding.
We leave Florence on pristine roads and take in a magnificent pass, the Passo della Consuma. We enjoy an excellent lunch in Arezzo and still have time for Cortona and Lake Trasimeno before the day ends in Perugia
After a delicious breakfast and a short briefing, we leave Perugia heading east and make our way past Assis. The town is world-famous as the birthplace of St. Francis. Fortunately, we were at least able to take a picture of the town with its famous basilica before heading east to the Monti Sibillini National Park and Castelluccio. The high plateau is often referred to as the “Tibet of Italy” and we were so fascinated by the vastness of the mountains that we completely forgot to take a picture. We had lunch with panini's and then drove on into the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park to Lago di Campotosto, where we were caught in the rain. So we got ourselves a cappuccino or a cioccolata calda (connoisseurs swear by the Italian version of hot chocolate) to warm up. Ready for the last section of the day, we got back on our bikes and set off again. The weather showed its best side again and the blue sky was already peeking through the clouds as we rode past L'Aquila to Santo Stefano di Sessanio. Today we spent the night in a small, medieval village, beautifully situated in the mountains of Abruzzo. Santo Stefano di Sessanio belongs to the club of the most beautiful villages in Italy and knows how to enchant with its ancient, magical atmosphere.
On rest days, we are often faced with the agony of choice of spending another great day on the bike or would we rather do some sightseeing and take a leisurely stroll through the city? Fortunately, everyone was able to make up their minds and so everyone rolled out of the parking lot on their motorcycles again. However, some of the group opted for sightseeing in L'Aquila. The capital of the Abruzzo region and although traces of the 2009 earthquake can still be found, the city has been restored to its former glory, with fountains, squares to stroll around and, as expected, delicious Italian food. The other part of the group opted for the rest day loop and we were not disappointed there either. The route took us through the southern part of the Gran Sasso National Park, around the Corno Grande, the highest peak in the Apennines. The road turned out to be a true motorcycle paradise, with endless bends, very little traffic and a beautiful landscape for the eye, which is now slowly beginning to show signs of spring, with small flowers blooming in the meadows everywhere. We also passed a filming location for the movie “They call me Trinity”, one of the very famous spaghetti westerns of the 70s and 80s. For our guests from the USA and Canada, this opened up a whole new film genre. We then continued up the mountain to Prati di Tivo, where a delicious lunch awaited us. As usual, we were hungrier than we had time to take pictures ;) We then followed the road around the mountain again, over the Passo della Capanelle, where we were finally caught up in the rain. However, we didn't let this spoil our fun, quickly slipped into our rain gear and after a short coffee break we continued on towards Santo Stefano di Sessanio. Before we went for a delicious dinner, we were given a guided tour of the Torre Medicea, which we were all able to understand thanks to our “guest on a home visit” Vince and tour guide Alan, despite the small language barrier with Italian language.
We leave the Gran Sasso and drive along a winding road to Serre di Conca. Thousands of curves and some wild animals accompany us.
We started the day full of anticipation, which was still a little cloudy in the morning, but we were rewarded with more bright blue skies with every kilometer we drove. After leaving the hotel, we turned off onto a mountain road towards Matese Regional Park. Here, one bend follows the next, pure driving pleasure. The regional park is known for its wilderness, populated by wolves and golden eagles. Isegrim preferred to hide from us, but we were able to spot the king of the skies hovering above us ... I wonder if he envied us the art of motorcycling ;) At Lago del Matese, one of the deep blue lakes, of which there are several in the mountain range, we made a photo stop and were fascinated by the vastness that was offered to us in the middle of the mountain range. On the way to lunch, we treated ourselves to a little taste of Italian city traffic chaos and stopped at a pizzeria in Caserta. Well fortified, we got back on our bikes and wound our way south through Caserta's streets. We decided to avoid the traffic chaos in Naples and decided to bypass the city at the foot of Mount Vesuvius on the highway. The highway took us a few kilometers along the volcano and so we were able to catch a glimpse or two of the surprisingly innocent-looking (fortunately) volcano from several directions. By the way, we handled the Italian toll booths with ease, you could almost say like the locals. One last fill-up and off we went on the last stage of the day. As soon as we got off the highway, countless bends were waiting for us again, winding their way up a mountain. We enjoyed every single one of them before we had our first view of the sea and then finally of the Amalfi Coast, where we had not just one night but another rest day.
A winding route with relatively little traffic and plenty of good stops, plus a great lunch in Amalfi. A great day.
Well rested thanks to the rest day and full of energy, we started the day. We were probably extra lucky as we drove inland along the Amalfi Coast, as there wasn't much traffic yet. After a last coffee in one of the small villages along the road, we made our way to the Cilento National Park. The road that awaited us there made our hearts beat faster. Endless curves, impressive scenery, blue skies, perfect temperatures and did we mention the endless curves? ;) After a short break in the shade and a few sips of water, we continued through the national park towards Padula for our lunch break. Our route took us through small alleyways to a very special lunch. Alan had prepared a picnic of Italian delicacies for us. We enjoyed the food with great enthusiasm and at least as much hunger. Well fortified, we continued on to Padula, to the Charterhouse of Padula, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with an impressive history. After a short tour, we continued on our motorcycles and rode from one winding road to the next, albeit with small detours on the highway. Of course, we didn't miss the coffee stop in the afternoon, which had become a habit. A little tired, but happy and satisfied, we finally arrived in Morano Calabro, where we have our hotel for the day.
We finally see the Ionian Sea and drive from Calabria back to Basilicata. Oranges, tomatoes, olives, grapevines, and much more accompany us all the way to Matera. There, a wonderful tour of the old town (i sassi) awaits us. What a wonderful day.
A short but lovely tour via Alberobello to Praiano a Mare and back. A pleasantly warm, sunny day, a light lunch, and a cold beer in Matera. A great day.
We leave the excellent hotel in Matera, drink a last espresso, and take a photo in Gravina, where James Bond jumped from the bridge not so long ago. At Castel del Monte, we have a final club sandwich with Charly and then continue on to the hotel. An excellent dinner at the port of Bisceglie and an epic motorcycle trip ends in the south of Italy. We hope to see you again soon. All the best.