60km 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 practicalities
START/FINISH: Ortona. DISTANCE: 50KM. TOTAL ASCENT: 499m TERRAIN AND SURFACES: flat until Punta Aderci. Short climb up to Vasto. Mixed surfaces; excllent tarmac, the gravel tracks on Punta Aderci. Some sections on SS16 (busy) FOOD:San Vito Chietino; L'Angolino Da Filippo, Il Frantoio Fosacessia: Ristorante da Rocco,: Vasto port; Ristorante da Ferri 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 Notes
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. The kestrel coloured sea-grass will wave in the breeze and the leaves of the giant reeds will rustle as you roll happily along. As you approach the small town of San Vito Chietino, you’ll pass the first of 16 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 wooden jetty 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 may have originated 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 melancholic 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: a wilder, more natural ride. 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. In winter the area is a bird-watchers dream; Kentish plovers, rare Great Bitterns, Marsh Harriers, and Sparrow Hawks are all seen here.
Riding onwards towards Vasto, you pass Italy’s second tallest lighthouse as well as the Ristorante da Ferri, which is famed for its brodetto vastese, a fish stew 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. Although the official route follows the coast and onto the Vast0-San-Salvo train station, you’d do well to ride up strada Gaetano Donizetti into the old town of Vasto, one of the jewels of the Adriatic. Roman ruins. medieval palazzi, pedestrianised streets as well as some good restaurants including Il Potrone. From the old town, its a freewheel back to the Via Verde before riding the last 2km to the station.
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.
If you enjoyed this guide, why not subscribe to the website so as not to miss other inspirational routes?
wheremywheelsgo.uk is a Feedspot UK Cycling top website