From Florence to Ravenna along the places of Dante’s exile
Tour description
An exciting off-road route which follows Dante Alighieri’s footsteps. The tour starts whether from Florence, the city where the poet was born, or from Ravenna, where he is buried, discovering villages and art cities where Dante wandered during his exile between Tuscany and Romagna. A Grand Tour which crosses territories such as Mugello, Casentino Valley, Tuscan-Romagna Apennines, Lamone Valley and little historic villages such as Poppi, Romena, Pratovecchio, Camaldoli, Portico di Romagna, San Benedetto in Alpe, Castrocaro Terme and Terra del Sole, places that inspired Dante to write the Divine Comedy.
Itinerary details
This itinerary, away from the traffic and any kind of air pollution, crosses the Apennines ridge which is characterised by an amusing alternation of ascents and descents. The route is mainly on dirt roads, it is never too difficult to ride with an e-bike: five stages with an elevation gain over 1,000mt and one below 1,000mt.
Considering the ascents and descents, in order to simplify the trip, a daily luggage transfer for every stage is included in the provided services.
Level: Medium, with e-MTB
Average daily distance: 46 km
Total distance: 275 km
Daily Itinerary
Day 1 Florence
Meeting point in Florence, where a lot of corners and places recall Dante’s life, first and foremost the House where he was born near “Torre della castagna”, we recommend visiting it after breakfast (closed on Mondays).
Day 2 Florence-Poppi
The route starts in the plain area between Florence, Prato and Pistoia “Piana Fiorentina” and passes through Pontassieve, then climbs towards Vallombrosa Abbey, whose cloister contains a medal depicting Dante and Beatrice. Downhill there is the small village of Prato di Strada. From there an ascent leads up to Poppi, a must-see during a route through Dante’s places. In poppi stands the Castle of the Guidi Counts where Dante was hosted. Near the Castle the famous Battle of Campaldino took place in which Dante fought on the Guelph side. Dante’s participation in the war is remembered today by the “Column of Dante” which will be seen along the route.
Distance 70 km
Day 3 Poppi-Camaldoli-Campigna
The tour heads to Pratovecchio from where it is possible to reach Porciano, a town in which Dante was a guest of the Guidi family. During this stay he wrote three of his famous Latin epistles.The tour continues towards Romena Castle where Dante stayed during the first years of his exile. Entering more and more the “selva oscura” [Dante’s dark forest], the tour comes close to the Sacro Eremo of Camaldoli, an ancient monastery still inhabited by monks.
Distance 54 km.
Day 4 Campigna-San Benedetto in Alpe
The tour continues discovering the territory of Foreste Casentinesi National Park where an alternation of ascents and descents crosses Passo del Muraglione and then goes downhill to San Benedetto in Alpe, known for its ancient abbey. The overnight stay will be in the middle of the peaceful “selva oscura”.
Distance: 30 km
Day 5 San Benedetto in Alpe-Portico di Romagna
As a “break” from cycling, it is possible to have a beautiful and refreshing walk (9km round trip) to the Acquacheta waterfalls, whose natural scenery was described by Dante in the Divine Comedy. Hop on bikes again and head down an exciting descent to Portico di Romagna, a village known its characteristic humpback bridge. Distance: 35km+9km on foot to the Acquacheta waterfalls.
Day 6 Portico di Romagna-Castrocaro
The tour continues up towards Tredozio where there is the “smallest volcano in the world”. Actually, it is not a real volcano, but a constantly working methane fountain. The tour continues along the ridge and reaches the quiet hermitage of Monte Paolo, so dear to St Anthony of Padua, who stayed there twice. After having enjoyed this atmosphere, the ride continues with a pleasant descent through the gullies of Spungone, a calcareous sandstone with the appearance of a sponge, made up of a coarse mixture of sea shells held together by limestone cement. The tour finally arrives at Castrocaro with its fortress and spa.
Distance: 40 km.
Day 7 Castrocaro-Forlì-Ravenna
Last stage at Terra del Sole, a jewel of Renaissance town planning commissioned by Cosimo de’ Medici in 1564 as an example of perfect urban planning, Terra del Sole was also a fortress defending the northern borders. From here it is a short ride to Forlì, where this year there is the official exhibition on Dante as he lived there twice during his exile. A final stretch on the plains leads to Ravenna, the city where the poet rests for seven centuries.
Distance: 53 km.
Day 8 End of the tour in Ravenna
End of the tour and of this unforgettable adventure.
See you next time!
You can return to Florence by train or with us booking the return trip as an extra service.
Type of itinerary
linear, self-guided
Duration
8 days, 7 nights
Number of participants
minimum 2 people
Departing calendar
every day
Departure
Florence
Arrival
Ravenna
Price per person in double room
€ 690 for groups of minimum 4 people
for gruops of 2-3 partecipants: extra charge of 200€ for person
Included services
- 7 overnight stays in a double room in a 3-star hotel or similar accommodation
- 7 breakfasts
- Dante Pass
- luggage transport
- APP and GPX tracks
Services not included
- tourist tax
- transport to the starting point and/or end point of the tour
- medical/luggage insurance
- bike rental and bike fitting
- anything not specified under “included services”
e-MTB Bike rental price
40€ per day
Extra services:
Single room supplement
Half board option (7 dinners)
Reductions & special offers
discount for renouncing an overnight stay in Ravenna or Florence: 60€
Code
DB-MA8 / itbs4089