From Siena by bike along the roads of the Francigena

To ride along this itinerary in the footsteps of the ancient pilgrims we start from Porta Camollia, one of the oldest gates of Siena. Leaving the city we will find fairly busy roads until we reach the locality of Il Braccio.

We leave State Road 2 to follow the road to Uopini and then Badesse, a village located at the bottom of a long descent, following the directions for Monteriggioni.

Once we reach the Cassia again, we turn right, along a pleasant road with an undulating profile, often plunged in the green woods of the Val di Merse, until we reach the crossorads that leads to Monteriggioni, high up on a hill. The village, with its imposing walls enclosing it, was an important Sienese military garrison whose charm is famous worldwide. After a visit to the village, we arrive at the Cassia along a steeply descending dirt road (be very careful) coming out of Porta Fiorentina, and then we continue for about a hundred meters. Here we follow the red and white signs that, on the left, indicate a dirt road that is now the official route of the Via Francigena.

Following the directions of the route for walkers and cyclists, we arrive at Abbadia a Isola. It is worth making a stop and visiting this ancient and austere village, founded around the year 1000 as a monastic settlement. The main attraction here is certainly the beautiful Romanesque Abbey of Saints Salvatore and Cirino with the attached cloister.

Once we leave Abbadia a Isola, the next stop is Castellina Scalo. From here, a recently built bicycle path runs alongside the Staggia stream and will lead us again to the Cassia. We now follow the directions for Siena and continue for about two kilometers on the state road. At the sign "Bracciano - Francigena sud" we climb a nice dirt road. Once we pass by Fattoria Petraglia, at the first junction we keep to the right and, still going uphill, we arrive in the vicinity of Casella, in whose surroundings we can admire an original stretch of medieval paving. Those wishing to reach Pontarosso, an ancient stone and brick bridge, will have to travel about a kilometer and then turn back. In this case, however, it is necessary to pay attention to the particularly bumpy road.

After passing past Casella, we keep to the left and reach the locality of Uccellatoio. After just one kilometer we are back on the Cassia. About 10 kilometers separate us from Siena, where traffic inevitably increases again.

Itinerary curated by stradedisiena.it