Umbria Bicycle Tour Itinerary
Day One: Among the Olives
Welcome to Umbria. After our meeting at the Foligno train station, we’ll transfer you to our villa in the hamlet of San Luca where we’ll toast your arrival with a glass of Prosecco. After your bike fitting, safety talk and map review, we’ll head out to the hilltown of Trevi, once a Roman municipium, traveling through olive groves and past vineyards. Once in Trevi we’ll pay a visit to our friend Marcello, who will lead us in a wine tasting of some of Umbria’s finest wines. Slowly descend back into the Spoleto Valley and work your way back to San Luca. After some down time enjoying the pool on the beautiful grounds of the luxurious Villa Zuccari, owned for generations by the same noble family, we’ll have our first dining experience in the hotel’s own restaurant.
Meals: Light Lunch and Dinner
Destinations visited: San Luca, Trevi
Accomplished: 21 km/ 13 miles
Day Two: The Sagrantino Way
We’ll leave our villa in San Luca and cycle through the vineyards to the town of Montefalco. Once there, we’ll be hosted by our friends, Daniela and Olivio, who will initiate us into the complexities and nuances of artisan olive oils. After exploring the town, we’ll continue riding and visit the Antonelli winery. Here we’ll learn about the wine making process and lift our glasses to toast the region’s famed Sagrantino grape. Then we’ll enjoy lunch in DuVine style with Umbrian favorites like bruschetta, cured meats and homemade pasta. Our remaining ride will blow you away, with its stunning panoramas of the Spoleto Valley on seldom-used tranquil country roads. Our final destination, the medieval fortified town of Bevagna, will transport you to another time. Our ancient villa, with the original noble family still in residence, and featuring frescoed ceilings, period furnishings and a cloistered garden is a museum in itself, providing a luxury rarely experienced. In the evening, after a sommelier-guided wine tasting, we’ll dine in the exquisite restaurant, Redibis, in the remains of Bevagna’s roman amphitheater, under the unforgettable care of our host, Paolo, the restaurant’s Maitre d’.
Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Destinations visited: Montefalco, Gualdo Cataneo, Bevagna
Accomplished: 29km / 18 miles
Day Three: The Trail of Saint Francis
Assisi, home of Saint Francis, and the incomparable upper and lower basilicas, basks in masterpieces of the early Italian Renaissance. Once an ancient Roman municipium, the hill town displays architecture ranging from Roman temples to some of the finest churches of Christendom. First, though, we’ll visit the namesake of Los Angeles, Santa Maria Degli Angeli, a magnificent basilica that houses the tiny church known as the Porziuncula, an evocative site where Saint Francis and his followers established his order. We will visit the upper and lower basilicas of Assisi, where frescoes by Cimabue, Giotto and Simone Martini combine to create one of the world’s finest ensembles of human creative genius and the profoundly moving crypt where Saint Francis’ remains lie. After exploring the town, we’ll ride back along the canals that crisscross the Spoleto valley to our hotel for some relaxation before heading out to dine on your own. Your guides will gladly suggest dinner options from formal to informal.
Meals: Breakfast
Destinations visited: Canarra, Santa Maria Degli Angeli, Assisi
Accomplished: 45 km / 27.9 miles
Day Four: The Road To Rubesco
Today, mettiamo le mani nel’ impasto, we’ll get our hands in the dough, as the Italians say. We’ll depart Bevagna for our next destination, Torgiano, where we’ll spend our final two nights in the former home of a noble count, and now a luxury hotel and spa, part of the Lungarotti winery’s estate. Upon arriving in Torgiano we’ll work with the chefs at Le Tre Vaselle who will lead us in a cooking class, followed by a lunch where we’ll sample the fruits of our labor. Take the afternoon to enjoy the spa, or, if you have an eye for pottery, come with us to an ancient pottery workshop in the village of Deruta. Take a tour where the Grazia family has been creating ceramics for the past five hundred years. We’ll dine casually tonight with homemade pizzas and other treats.
Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Destinations visited: Torgiano, Deruta
Accomplished: 22 km/ 13 miles (with an optional 12K ride to Deruta)
Day Five: The Olive Road to Orvieto
The day’s epic ride is one you won’t forget, as we cycle along the Olive Oil Road, your legs will get a good warm-up on the plains between Torgiano and Marsciano, followed by a few climbs through olive groves as well as pine and oak forests on a sleepy windy road overlooking the Umbrian countryside. Of course, our guide in the van is ready to comfort and shuttle you to make this ride a personal favorite, no matter what your cycling desires might be. What follows, after a light lunch, is a 20 kilometer descent into Orvieto, a ride guaranteed to please.
Orvieto is an alluring destination. Its world famous Duomo, which melds the architectural epochs of Romanesque and polychrome Italian Gothic, is unlike any other. The town’s medieval quarter, with its markets, ceramics shops and cafes, beckon to be explored. We’ll transfer back to Torgiano for a sommelier-guided wine tasting, followed by our farewell dinner.
Meals: Breakfast/Dinner
Destinations visited: Marsciano, San Venanzo, Orvieto
Accomplished: 65 km/ 40 miles
Day Six: Foligno
After a sumptuous breakfast, say goodbye to Umbria in the manner you see fit, perhaps with a morning bike ride, before we transfer you to the train station in Foligno as you head for your next destination.
Meal: Breakfast
Accomplished: Total Satisfaction
