Cycle Route of the Castles in Lunigiana

The cycle route has its symbolic beginning in the historic town center of Pontremoli, near the medieval Cresa bridge. From here you can ride along the tree-lined avenue of the Chiosi, its bridge, the wonderful baroque villa Dosi Delfini, and climb the Piagnaro hill, dominated by the castle and its museum of stele statues of Lunigiana. You go down again to Piazza del Duomo and Piazza della Repubblica, the beating hearts of the city, and you ride on cobblestones until you exit the village from Porta Fiorentina.

Next, we partly take advantage of the Via Francigena route through the village of Strada Statale Annunziata and then enter the municipality of Filattiera and the Caprio valley. Here beautiful cottages, olive trees and vines lead up to the village of Ponticello and its medieval tower-houses.

Still on the Via Francigena, you ride along the banks of the Magra River and reach the Romanesque parish church of Sorano and then return to the long river on an easy gravel dirt road. You then climb the Bagnone valley along Mocrone and Malgrate to the lovely village of Bagnone and its castle, which you skirt before passing into the municipality of Villafranca, with the medieval village of Virgoletta.

You reach Villafranca Lunigiana and its park along the Magra River. You cross the river and find yourself cycling in the municipality of Mulazzo along the nature trail that with beautiful paths makes you go up the valley on the right bank until you reach Pontremoli again. A route of great satisfaction and variety.

Along the way there are self-repairing columns and countless opportunities to stop for visits and tastings. From the bike route, the valley floor connection, then branch off, toward the side valleys, about 20 MTB routes of varying difficulty.