Genoa to Florence and Rome, cycling in Italy

The road from Genoa to Florence and Rome is one of the more beautiful and popular roads to cycle. Not for nothing because it is this part of Italy that is especially for cyclists interesting. There are plenty of great cities, towns and villages to visit and the landscapes are breathtaking while the cycling itself is never too difficult though challenging. Weather-wise this part of Italy is also great.

I had come from Col de Larche, the border with France and had some serious troubles coming down to Cuneo, the first major city in Italy this way. I had several problems with my bicycle,. ( see my story about Jim for some details about the problems I had) but they were all sorted out.

Although Genoa has a long and spectacular history (the oldest remains date back to the 5th and 6th century AD), I didn't spend much time here. Of course Genoa Golden Age is the Renaissance, when the city was an important city state. Christopher Columbus was probably the most famous citizen of the city. The city has still a harbor but has lost it major importance.

I stayed only a night here, also because it was really expensive to even get a camping site at the beach but beaches here were mostly gravel beaches, and not the great sand beaches in other areas.

The next morning I cycled through the city in the direction of La Spezzia. It felt good to use a slightly more difficult road through the hills inlands then to follow the busy coastal road with its continuous stretch of campings and hotels.

I first followed directions to Bargalli, after which it went down to Sestri. Here I found a long 15 km climb up which I had not expected. But the scenery was spectacular.

La Spezzia had no camping so I went to Lecita, 15 km further at the beach.

That night I had to decide to visit Pisa first and then go to Florence or skip Pisa and go direct to Florence. If I had decided Pisa, it would have taken me a few more days. I decided to go straight to Florence with a stop halfway in Monsummano.

I had passed the spectacular city of Lucca. One could say if Lucca had been a city in, say France, Germany or Belgium, it would be world famous but with Pisa, Florence and Genoa nearby, many people simply skip Lucca. It's not a fair deal as Lucca too has quite some spectacular city walls and a beautiful city center which is maybe less famous as Florence but it's for sure as beautiful.

Florence to Rome

Florence was now nearby but I decided to do that the next day. Florence... ahhhh.... city of angels some call it. The city is like an open air museum, like many other renaissance cities in Italy. The cathedral in the city center alone is a masterpiece of early renaissance  architecture and the streets around the city center are all medieval in style.

Even though nowadays the little stores contain souvenir shops and restaurants it is still possible to breath some of the old atmosphere of medieval times. One can spend days in Florence without being bored. There is so much to see here.

If there is one city where history and present go hand in hand it's probably Florence. But I was on my way south, to another legendary city: Sienna. Florence might be more famous but Sienna is no less spectacular.

I wrote in my diary that Sienna reminded me of Gent in Belgium. That is not totally strange as both cities were important in the same time.

The road from Florence, although only 64 km was quite hard, short steep ascendings and seldom time to recover.

But in Sienna I had time to recover. The central market square is medieval and in excellent state.

I expected 3 more days before reaching Rome. I kept taking lesser busy roads through a never ending hilly land of green and yellow. Another reason why it is so popular with cyclists.

My next stop was the little town of Castiglione at the Trasimeno lake after a very hard day cycling. The old city walls were great restored but the lake was much smaller then I had anticipated.

Another 110 km south was my next stop: Bosena. But the real gem that day was the little town Orveito. This spectacular little town is located on a hill top with a short climb up. The center of the town is total medieval. I had come on a Sunday. The church service had just finished and the locals were sitting around the city square enjoying their coffee. I could have come here 100, 200 years ago with the same sight. Time stood literally still in this little town.

And from Bolsena it was just over 100 km to Rome. It was a kind of the end of the road for me. After Rome I would start another chapter of my journey. When I had left Holland I felt Rome would be the first stop before the next chapter would start. I would spend a couple of days in Rome because ... well because it is Rome and there is so much to see.

Rome

I spend a whole day in the Vatican Museum and the St. Peter cathedral, visited the old Senate where I imagined Julius Caesar was having his speeches. I wandered through the old streets, where Bob Dylan wrote about:

"Oh, the streets of Rome are filled with rubble,
Ancient footprints are everywhere.
You can almost think that you're seein' double"

and

"Oh, the hours I've spent inside the Coliseum,
Dodging lions and wastin' time.
Oh, those mighty kings of the jungle, I could hardly stand to see 'em"

One can hardly describe Rome better then these lines. Rome was the real ending of my first part of my journey. Rome was a milestone. One can go to Rome over and over again and every time being astonished by it's beauty. Much more then that other great ancient city: Athens, Rome is breathing history.

You walk where Nero, Julius Caesar, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rafael, Botticelli and so many other great people have walked. To me, it was an almost magical experience. And when I left, I cycled right through the city heart south in the direction of Naples but that is another story.

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