Itinerary: Faenza (0 km), Brisighella (17 km), Modigliana (30 km), Tredozio (41 km), Portico di Romagna (61 km), San Benedetto in Alpe (73 km), Passo del Muraglione (83 km), Premilcuore (106 km), Strada San Zeno (117 km), Galeata (123 km), Santa Sofia (130 km), Ridracoli (144 km), Corniolo (166 km), Passo della Calla (179 km), Pratovecchio (197 km), Eremo di Camaldoli (213 km), Badia Prataglia (223 km), Passo dei Mandrioli (230 km), Bagno di Romagna (243 km), Sarsina (265 km), Mercato Saraceno (274 km), salita del Barbotto (279 km), Sogliano al Rubicone (293 km), Roncofreddo (303 km), Longiano (308 km), Cesena (320 km)
Duration: 72 hours
Length: 320 km
Difficulty: easy
When to start: from April to October
Bikes: all types
Our journey to discover the most authentic Romagna begins in Faenza, a town famous for having developed the art of ceramics way back in the first centuries after the year 1000. Riolo Terme is a stone’s throw away and then, just a few kilometers further on, we find ourselves in front of the magnificence of Romagna Vena del Gesso (Gypsum Vein). Hairpin curve after hairpin curve along provincial road 23 bring us to Brisighella, whose origins date back to the end of the 13th century, a place with some unique beauties in its historic heart such as the Via degli Asini (Donkey Street). After going about 15 kilometres beyond Lamone, we arrive at Modigliana, on the Tramazzo river; then, following the river, we get to the hamlet of Tredozio and, through the woods past the summit of Monte Busca, we come across the "smallest volcano in the world" whose flame has burned uninterruptedly since the 16th century.
One curve after another, and we are on the Tosco Romagnola state road at Portico di Romagna. A few more kilometers to reach Bocconi, and the Ponte della Bruscia (Bruscia Bridge), which, crossing a waterfall, represents a unique example of its kind. Speaking of waterfalls, there’s the Acquacheta, which bewitched Dante, and which awaits us in San Benedetto in Alpe together with the delicacies of its fine, little restaurants. From here, the curves and hairpin bends begin until we reach the Muraglione Pass, the "Disneyland" for motorcyclists, from where, taking the freshly asphalted provincial road SP9ter, we return to Romagna, crossing the Tre Faggi pass. Thus, we reach Premilcuore following the course of the Rabbi river, a river that captivates with its waterfalls, and then continue on to Strada San Zeno and reach, after passing the Cento Forche pass, Galeata and Santa Sofia, the gateway to the Casentino Forests National Park. It is the ideal base for exploring the Ridracoli dam, just over 500 metres above sea level, and being enchanted by the spectacle of the reservoir reflecting the Casentino mountains.
Back on State Road SS310, the village of Corniolo is just a short distance away; you then begin to climb until you reach Campigna and the Calla Pass. Stia and Pratovecchio represent an incursion into Tuscan land to reach the gates of the Camaldoli hermitage and, through the magic of the beech trees of the Fangacci Pass, go back down to Badia Prataglia and from there, curve after curve, you enjoy the magic of the Mandrioli Pass, with the extraordinary uniqueness of the marl complex of the “Scalacce”.
Bagno di Romagna awaits you, with its restorative spas, and then, following the course of the Savio river, you touch upon San Piero in Bagno and, about twenty km later, arrive in the heart of Sarsina, with its unique batch of stories and legends.
Continuing along Provincial highway SP142, there’s Mercato Saraceno and the terrible hairpin bends of the Salita del Barbotto (Barbotto Climb): 4 kilometres and 600 metres with an average gradient of 8% and a final ramp of 14% that lead to the ridge road that separates the valleys of Savio and Uso, one of the classic itineraries of the Nove Colli (nine hills) route.
It is by glimpsing ancient hamlets such as Rontagnano, Montegelli, Strigara that you arrive at Sogliano al Rubicone, the village that gives its name to the DOP fossa cheese, to finally reach Roncofreddo, going down along the 18 legendary hairpin curves of the Cioca. Just a few more kilometres and there’s the magic of Longiano that can already be experienced from afar arriving from the provincial road SP40 when your eye fully captures the medieval spirit that the ancient hamlet is still able to convey. Longiano, Calisese and there is the junction with the Via Emilia that, in little more than a hop, skip and a jump, will take us to the heart of the splendid Cesena of the Malatesta family and to the end of a magnificent, intense, emotion-filled journey, in the heart of the most authentic Romagna.
