Italy Ciociaria Gourmet Cycle Tour

This tour is a unique collaboration with Ciociaria-based food and culture specialists Paolo and Kelly Picarazzi of Antica Travel, with Paolo born in the region. Ciociaria lies 90 minutes south-east of Rome, and its ancient Italic tribes were absorbed into the Roman Empire around 300 BC, though their love of food, wine, music and the natural environment lives on.

Starting and finishing in Rome, the tour is based for seven nights in an 18th-century aristocratic palace in the hilltop village of Atina, overlooking the fertile Comino Valley with the Abruzzo mountains as a backdrop. Riders cycle with a local guide on out-and-back rides averaging 40 km a day, along scenic backroads to nearby villages, wineries, markets and historic sites, with flexibility for longer or shorter rides.

Days are filled with cheese making, winery lunches, meetings with local producers and fine regional dining.

Highlights:

• Quiet sealed backroads through the Comino Valley and its hilltop villages
• Seven nights in a restored 18th-century aristocratic palace
• Making your own ricotta with one of the valley's most respected cheese makers
• Winery visits, local markets and a 2,000-year-old flour mill
• Pilgrim walk to the Sanctuary of the Black Madonna of Canneto
• Lake Posta Fibreno, a favourite retreat of Cicero

Surface and terrain:
95% paved quiet rural roads, with occasional narrow stretches through villages and vineyards. Mostly flat valley riding with gentle ascents and descents, plus some steeper climbs into hilltop villages and between valleys.

Suitable for:
Food, wine and culture lovers comfortable riding around 40 km a day with some steeper climbs, which e-bikes make manageable. Non-cyclists can be catered for.