83km Francavilla - Ortona
Castello Septe
Ride overview
Tough days in the saddle are often the most rewarding and certainly the most memorable. The route through the hill-hugging vineyards of Chieti province on farm tracks and deserted country roads is a challenge; the roads and tracks are steep, there’s plenty of gravel and dust (mud after rain) and there are few places to stop off at on the outward leg. The rewards are plentiful; views of the Maiella, the vines in their regular lines, the gravel tracks, the ride along the sparkling coast, passing trabocchi. Overall, this ranks as one of Abruzzo’s great gravel rides. Add the historic town of Ortona with its spectacular castle, the raucous delights of a typical Adriatic seaside resort in Francavilla, tempting places to stop and bathe as well as eat, this often scruffy but nature-rich route through wine country begs to be ridden.
Ride practicalities
This adventure day ride is best suited for a gravel bike. The route is sometimes signed by the Rete Ciclabile dei Trabocchi 1a, 5
START/FINISH: Francavilla-al-Mare DISTANCE: 83km TOTAL ASCENT: 1300m TERRAIN AND SURFACES: mixed surfaces including rough farm tracks through the vineyards, many winding back country lanes and the beautifully smooth traffic-free cycleway of The Via Verde FOOD AND DRINK: Lanciano; Cottabo, San Vito Chietino; Bottega Culinaria, Langolo da Filippo, Il Frantoio Ortona; Trabocco Mucchiola MAINLINE TRAIN SERVICES: Fossacesia-al-Mare, San Vito-Lanciano LINKS TO OTHER RIDES: Between the mountains and the sea, The Abruzzo Coast, The Trabbochi Coast, Vineyard Vestments, Vasto’s hills and headlands, The scent of the sea
Ride notes
The route is signed as part of the Rete Ciclabile dei Trabocchi as 1A and 5, although depending on them for navigation is perilous, particularly in and around Francavilla-al-Mare and Lanciano. Follow the downloadable map and you’ll have an easier navigational time of it. The route begins beside Francavilla-al-Mare’s train station. Parking in the town is more than difficult, particularly in high season. You could of course, avoid the start in Francavilla and drive to its outskirts where parking is much easier. There are regular trains serving Francavilla should you choose not to drive.
Leaving Francavilla’s station you are immersed into a major Adriatic coastal resort; busy, loud, and commercial. Enjoy the smell of frittura mista, the sounds of Europop, the crowds and the expensive beaches. Initially the on-road route is a little dull as it heads through the villas and small fields on the outskirts of town, but soon you’re deep in the folded hills of Chieti province.
And what hills! Endless. Steep. Gravel surfaced. You are either crawling up one or brake-squealing down without any half measures. Views to the other side of a valley or up to the massif of the Maiella never fail to entrance. Nature surrounds you, despite the agriculture. The many woods are alive with birdsong, the verges full of flowers. Those used to the manicured vineyards in the north, say in Tuscany, France or Germany may be surprised at how scruffy Abruzzo’s vineyards are - grass unmown, vines sprawling across pergolas, trees encroaching on the fields. But that would be missing the point as this area is not only one of the most productive wine regions in all Italy, but also one Europe’s most nature rich.
vineyards of the Moro valley
On this route, you’re spared culture. It’s all about the riding. Green, rich green, and the blue of the sea and sky. Stop and watch the red kites and the buzzards patrolling above the woody hills. See the deer or a tribe of wild boar. Foxes. Black squirrels. Weasels. In spring, the holes in the cliffs on the upper slopes of the hills are filled with sand martins’ nests. Rock doves purr, warblers sing their throaty songs, swallows skim the roads. Ride in the height of summer and the countryside is stilled by great heat. You’ll find lizards basking in the road, harmless black whip snakes sinuously slide away as you curve around a bend. Autumn is more coloured than Joseph’s coat. Come in winter when the tracks are dry, there’s silence of a different kind, winter crisp and cold, the country cloaked in rich browns and greys. Just avoid the route after heavy rain for the mud will clog your wheels and will bring you to a terrible halt.
Summer snow- the seeds of the poplar tree
This region has been brutalised by war. And earthquakes and landslides. After a disaster, houses are rebuilt cheaply without a nod to aesthetics. Villages are practical and set out in a linear fashion with a few shops: a butcher, a cafe, a baker. Old style. In Arielli you can still see old buildings pockmarked with shrapnel. There’s a memorial to a massacre when the occupying Nazis massacred a group of men suspected of sabotage.
Arielli Memorial
Lanciano offers a break from the repetitive hills. It’s a busy town, pretty, and the main church of San Francesco holds the Miracle of the Eucharist, where a priest in the 8th century, doubting the veracity of the transubstantiation of the host, had the ‘bread’ turn into a piece of human heart whilst he celebrated the Eucharist. The relic is housed in an ornate altar piece. The ‘miracle’ continues to attract the thousands of the faithful.
Lanciano
From the town you head down to the Torrente Feltrino, on one of the most exciting gravel paths in Abruzzo. Fast and easy riding, with some technical sections to keep you alert, it deposits you beside the sea.
The waters of the Adriatic are nothing if not alluring, particularly in the height of summer. As you turn onto the Via Verde for the coastal ride back to the start, you’ll ride past trabocchi, old fishing platforms, and many public beaches. (There is a smattering too of small concessions with their colourful umbrellas and loungers). The riding is on a beautifully smooth and traffic-free cycle path. Perfect tarmac, regular public toilets, cafés and bars, trattorias, families enjoying a ride on hired bikes.
At the port of Ortona, you pass the old Ritorna lighthouse, a squat, black and white affair, before riding up the cliff to the town itself. Much damaged in the war, Ortona was referred to by Winston Churchill as the ‘Allies Stalingrad’. Nearby is a Canadian War Cemetery where there are too many young men laid to rest fighting for peace. The Aragonese castle dominates the cliff - a monument built by another invading force but for all its power and and 15th century aggression, it is a spectacular building. In town, there are the remains of St. Thomas, one of Christ’s 12 disciples. He’s had an adventurous time, both when alive and dead, including travelling to India, being held ransom by Turks, taken by pirates, before finally resting here.
Ritorna Lghthouse, Ortona
It is hoped that in due course, the cycle track will be traffic-free all the way up the Abruzzi coast. For now there is a section of riding on a busy road out of Ortona in the direction of Francavilla. After a few kilometers, it turns off onto a service road linking various private beach concessions. There are fields beside the road which formerly grew tomatoes but are now abandoned and nature is busy reclaiming them.
A cycle path takes you beside any number of pay-to-enter beaches. Cafés, noise, people ambling onto the bike path, and the smell of food accompany you as you turn the last few revolutions back 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.
If you enjoyed this guide, why not subscribe to the website so as not to miss other inspirational routes?