53km The Trabocchi Coast
Trabocco, Punta Aderci
Ride Overview
In a land already rich in sights and nature, the UNESCO Heritage Coast of Provincia di Chieti is one of Abruzzo’s crown jewels. A cycle path, The Via Verde, runs along the entire coastline, connecting Ortona to San Salvo. In truth, only 25km are properly finished with tarmac surface, public toilets, bike hire shops and signage, but that said, the whole route is a treat of a ride.
Initially riding on a well surfaced traffic-free cycle path of a former railway, it becomes towards its southern end, more gravelly and hilly. Varied, both in terms of coastal views and cultural sights, there are coves, cliffs and beaches, sandy as well as pebbly. There are reeds and estuaries, nature reserves, small seaside villages, a castle or two along with two towns of great vintage. The highlight are the trabocchi, curious and magnificent fishing machines, which have existed on the coast for at leat 200 years, maybe even 2,000 (depending on which source you trust!). The route is lined with many family-run restaurants and trattorias, and of course there are endless opportunities to enjoy the sea both from without as well as within on public beaches free from the private concessions which dominate so much of Italy’s coast. For a more experienced cyclist, (there are a couple of busy road sections to negotiate as well as the traffic-free path), it is a relaxing and easy day on the bike, and one hard to beat.
Ride practicalities
START/FINISH: Ortona. DISTANCE: 54KM. TOTAL ASCENT: 464m TERRAIN AND SURFACES: flat until Punta Aderci. Short climb up to Vasto. Mixed surfaces; excellent tarmac, the gravel tracks on Punta Aderci. Some sections on SS16 (busy) FOOD: Ortona; Trabocco Mucchiola, San Vito Chietino; L'Angolino Da Filippo, Il Frantoio, Vasto port; Ristorante da Ferri, Vasto town; Hostaria del Pavone MAINLINE TRAINS: regular trains along the coast connecting, Ortona, Fossacesia, Casalbordino and Vasto/San Salvo Bikes are free and require no pre-booking - they run every hour and take 34 minutes. LINKS TO OTHER RIDES: Vasto’s hills and headlands, Lanciano-Fossacesia Gravel Loop, Francavilla-Ortona Gravel route, Abruzzo’s Adriatic Coast
Ortona's lighthouse
Ride Notes
The Via Verde begins a kilometre or so past Ortona’s station, at the lighthouse. The Ritorna lighthouse - The Return - is so named for the rocks nearby where a princess waited for her prince she’d hoped to marry, to return from war. Days passed, and in her desperation, she sat on the rock crying out, ‘Return, Return!’ Unfortunately, he was killed in a battle and as her despair grew, the waves heard her cry and washed her away to join her prince in death.
Using the traffic-segregated path, follow the signage (Via Verde) through the port and into a series of well lit tunnels, before arriving back in the sun beside the sea. After the last tunnel, there’s a small public beach, Punta di Aquabello. Beautiful water. Indeed it is. But be warned - stopping this early might mean you fail to reach the end of the ride. There are further bathing opportunities ahead.
Abruzzo’s UNESCO Heritage Trabocchi Coast
You cannot fail to notice as you ride along the coast, the mysterious and magnificent fishing machines jutting out into the sea, known as ‘trabocchi’, which the Abruzzese poet, Gabriel D’Annunzio, likened to "the colossal skeleton of an antediluvian amphibian." The platforms were built to allow fishermen to fish, without having to risk life and limb in their boats. No one quite knows their origin; perhaps they originated with the Phoenicians over 2,000 years ago, although written records trace them back only as far as the 18th century. They mirror others across the Indian Ocean on the Malabar coast and, whilst they are no longer used for fishing, most have been converted into restaurants. A recommended trabocco-restaurant is the Trabocco Mucchiola, which you pass on the way to San Vito Chietino.
The stretch of the Via Verde between Fossacesia and Ortona was used for the Time Trial in the 2023 edition of the Giro d’Italia. Racing against the clock at speeds above 50km, the Italian favourite Filippo Ganna was beaten by Remco Evenepoel. You can imagine how spectacular it looked as the elite of the cycling world sped along this perfect path beside a deep blue sea with trabocchi, castles and inland hills covered in vineyards, looked through the TV camera lenses.
Trabocco at Punta Aderci
The route rolls along the cycle path, passing pebbly coves and sandy beaches. Most are free public ones, accessible to all as opposed to the private ones with their umbrellas and loungers. Small family run cafés, bars and trattorias line the path. Roll on towards the Bay of Venus and Fossacesia and continue on through the small resorts of Torino di Sangro and Casalbordino. The beaches become progressively emptier the further south you go, and even in high summer, you can expect to have much space to yourself. The water is warm (in summer it can reach 29 degrees), and often limpid and clear. The shore gently enters the water.
After Le Morge, there’s an irritating couple of kilometres on the busy SS16, where the cycle path runs, after which, the route mixes hard-packed earth with gravel as you ride through national nature reserves. Gone now are the infrastructures of the Adriatic, replaced by holm oaks, pines, reeds and lagoons. It becomes a wilder and more natural ride, a little hillier too, and crests Punta Aderci. From the promontory the magic of Abruzzo can be seen in one sweep - that of the majestic peaks of the Maiella on one side and the deep blue sea on the other. It is a hard spot to leave.
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’s another short section of road riding, before you again re-join the cycle path. Vasto, named Guasto in Medieval times, meaning ‘broken’, which seems an apt name for a town which has been sacked and destroyed so many times by Romans, Franks, Spaniards, Turks, and earthquakes. However there is nothing broken about the town today; it is one of the loveliest in Abruzzo, set high above the bay, with gracious brick palaces, Roman ruins, great restaurants and fabulous coastal views. The cathedral has to be one of the smallest in Christendom. It’s a place made for strolling rather than riding, so lock up the bike, have lunch at Hostaria del Pavone, and take your passeggiata around the pedestrianised streets and along the Belevedere. When its time, head back down the hill, re-join the Via Verde, past some typical Adriatic hotels and condominiums, until the turn off to the station. Of course, if time is tight, or the short hill up to town is un-appealing, just continue along the bike path to the station.
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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