ROMAN COUNTRYSIDE
Sunday: Arrival at the “agriturismo” (farmhouse) in the afternoon. You will receive all the documents and your bike. At dinner (which is included in the price) we will have the chance to start knowing each others.

Monday: Cecchina-Ardea (26Km)
After breakfast, left the farmhouse, we make for the coastline to reach Ardea. After the picnic lunch, we have all the time to visit the little town of Ardea, which is situated on a particular formation of tuff. We will “explore” the spring “Piana del Giardino” with its mineral water and all the historical and archaeological evidences, such as the ancient temple of the acropolis, the monumental city walls and the Sforza Cesarini palace (XV century)

Tuesday: Cecchina-Grottaferrata (22Km)
We start out the day with a stop at Ariccia, an ancient little town built on volcanic rocks. Ariccia was bought by the Chigi family during the XVII century and it was completely rebuilt by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Evidences of his work can be admired in the town centre and in the church of Santa Maria dell’Assunzione. We continue our ride towards Albano, an old Roman town (it was called Alba Longa) full of artistic and architectural evidences of the Roman age, such as the amphitheatre, the tombs of Orazi and Curiazi and the Cisternone, a very well conserved example of the Roman hydraulic genius. Left Albano we make for Grottaferrata, where we will visit the Abbey. Biking half way up the slope we will have the chance of enjoying the beautiful view of Roma and its 7 hills.

Wednesday: Cecchina-Appia Antica (28Km)
Left Cecchina, cycling on minor roads, we go through the new Park of Appia Antica. Everything here, the ruins of the aqueducts, the villas and the temples bring us back to the Roman age. Cycling in a fairy-tale landscape, it feels as we might meet a Roman Centurion or a biga (a Roman race-track) at any moment now. The magic atmosphere and the unusual silence let us forget that we are just 7km away from the Colosseo and 8km from the busy city centre. We finish our ride putting the wheels in furrows dug by the ancient Romans’ tracks.

Thursday: Cecchina-Tor Caldara (32km)
Today, cycling slowly through the countryside at south-east of Cecchina, we make our way to Anzio. Past San Lorenzo, named after the homonym medieval tower, we ride through a luxuriant pinewood and we reach the entrance of Tor Caldara, where there is a nature reserve. Stretching for 44 hectares, it was opened officially in 1988. Inside the reserve nimble paths lead to the main entrance, through the woods as far as the Caldara Tower. The tower was built in the middle of 500 and it stands straight up the sea, giving its name to the reserve.

Friday: Cecchina-Lake of Castel Gandolfo (27km)
All the area of “Castelli Romani” is volcanic and today we are going to visit, by bikes, the lake of Castel Gandolfo, which is part, with the lake of Nemi, of the Park of Castelli Romani. Arriving from Cecchina and at the end of a short tunnel, we find the lake in front of us (6Km in length and 300metres in depth) it takes up the crater of an ancient volcano. At the top there is Castel Gandolfo. This town is famous to be the Pope’s residence in the summer time. We have the chance of going round the lake by bikes. The lakes is surrendered by a luxuriant vegetation, beautiful woods, whose trees skim across the water with their branches. We will wait here for our mini-van to take us back to the farmhouse.