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technical info
A mixed-terrain stage, undulating particularly in its second part. A departure from Camaiore leads the riders across the Pisan plain to Volterra, touching on Pisa, Ponsacco and Lajatico. The group will then enter the surroundings of Siena, with a series of ups and downs of varying degrees of difficulty until the riders reach Colonna di Montarrenti where a circuit of sorts begins. The race will pass through Rosia and, after a short stretch on the ss.223, will climb the hill of La Pineta before passing through Monticiano and reaching the San Galgano plain. Another climb to Chiusdino follows and then a short climb (Frosini) back to Colonna di Montarrenti. The riders pass through Rosia once more to reach a flat finish.
Final Kilometers
The last few kilometres are virtually flat. There is a slight descent initially, followed by a slight ascent up to the finish. The last bend is situated about 3km from the finish. Arrival on asphalt, 7m wide roadway.
start / finish
final kilometres
itinerary timetable
tourist info
Host city:
Camaiore
Overview
Camaiore lies at the heart of Versilia, a charming region with long-established traditions, and has a varied landscape. Only a few other places on earth can boast such a combination of contrasting yet harmonising sceneries: from the heights of the Apuan Alps to the gentle rolling hills, dotted with lovely villages, to the beaches in Lido di Camaiore.
The customs and traditions of the city, such as the sawdust carpets and the oil-lamp procession commemorating the death of Jesus, made it a major tourist destination. Camaiore has a typical chessboard layout, and is surrounded by defensive walls. Major landmarks include the famous Collegiate church and the Benedictine Abbey. The town bursts into life especially in the summertime, offering a wealth of tourist attractions. The Palio takes place in June and in July, with the six town’s districts challenging each other in a set of athletic and entertaining competitions. The town of Camaiore is also known to sports and cycling enthusiasts for the historical “Gran Premio Città di Camaiore”, which was raced from 1949 to 2014, while in recent years it has become a permanent feature of the Tirreno-Adriatico route.
Food
Scarpaccia: A savory pie, traditionally prepared with zucchini, flour, salt, pepper and onion.
Torta di pepe or “co’ pizzi”: A savory rice pie, with the alternative name referring to the lace-like design of the puff-pastry crust. The filling is made with rice, chard, bread, eggs, pepper, parsley and pecorino cheese.
Tordelli: A pasta dish, similar to ravioli, stuffed with ground beef and pork, chard, parmesan, eggs and breadcrumbs. It is served in a rich meat sauce.
Norcineria camaiorese: “Norcineria” refers to artiginal pork products, and in the Camaiore area this food originates from the butchers of the village of Gombitelli. This is a linguistic island that has hosted a Longobard population since the Middle Ages. Typical products are lard, pork mortadella, or “sbriciolona”, and biroldo. The sbriciolona is sweet and delicate tasting, made with shoulder loin, neck and pork belly, to which are added aromas and spices – salt, pepper, fennel seeds, cinnamon and cloves. Biroldo is a blood-based pork sausage, made with parts considered less noble, such as head, lungs, heart, tongue and sometimes intestines.
Points of interest
In addition to its historical and medieval features, the center of Camaiore encompasses many places of interest around it. The main street is the central via Vittorio Emanuele, paved and pedestrianized, along which there are shops, bars and excellent restaurants.
The Collegiate Church of Maria Assunta is the most important church, located in Piazza San Bernardino and built in 1260. The Church and Cloister of San Lazzaro dates back to 1610 and is located in the locality of Frati. Traditional festivals and events are organized in the cloister during the summer. Another religious place is the suggestive Badia di San Pietro, dating back to the Lombard period and which reached its maximum splendor in the 12th century. Another church is that of San Michele, of Romanesque origin but rebuilt after World War II.
Among the many palaces present, the Palazzo Tori Massoni stands out, home to the Archaeological Museum of Camaiore, where you can find many historical remains that testify to a continuity of settlement from Prehistory to the Middle Ages up to the proto-industrial age. The Museum of Sacred Art of Camaiore, on the other hand, is located in a 17th century building, an ancient hospitales located along the Via Francigena, which later became the seat of the Confraternity of San Michele Arcangelo. Over time, the Museum has enriched its collections, becoming the site of important exhibitions and collecting some of the most interesting local works of art. Among these, the well-known Virgin Annunciata by Matteo Civitali.
Another building of a certain value is the Teatro dell’Olivo, one of the oldest in all of Tuscany. Built in the mid-1600s by the Academy of the Weak. Finally there is the Arc de Triomphe. Made outside the Lombricese gate to celebrate Camaiore’s loyalty to Lucca in quelling the “Revolt of the beggars”.
Sovicille
Overview
Originally called Sufficillum, Sovicille is a fortified village located at the foot of the south-eastern part of the Montagnola, about 10 km west of Siena, along the route of the ancient Maremma road which connects the Via Francigena and the Maremma coast.
A castle was the centre point of the historical village of Sovicille. It was later transformed into a stately villa by Baldassarre Peruzzi, a great Renaissance architect in the 16th century. The main square is overlooked by the castle, the fourteenth-century church of San Lorenzo, the town hall and several other stone buildings. The original, ancient wall surrounding the center is still partly visible. The area around the town is rich in small fortified villages, austere Romanesque churches and elegant castles.
Historical findings in the area date back to the Etruscans and Romans, however, it was in the Middle Ages that this land experienced its golden age, as indicated by the richness of Romanesque churches and castles located throughout the territory: and authentic pearls of art such as the abbey of Torri, with its cloister, Ponte della Pia, the churches of Ponte allo Spino, San Giusto a Balli, Pernina, Molli, Rosia and Sovicille. The fortified castles, some of which date back to the Middle Ages, built to defend this strategically decisive territory for Siena, include Radi, Celsa, Palazzo al Piano, Montarrenti, Castiglion che Dio sol Sa, Rosia, Orgia, Capraia and Siena Vecchia. Renaissance villas of note in the region are the seventeenth-century Cetinale, and Celsa, with its beautiful Italian garden, and finally the eighteenth-century villa of Linari.
Geografically Sovicille is blessed with a flourishing alluvial plain, wooded hills populated by a rich Mediterranean fauna and numerous waterways. It also boasts a wealth of commercial activities from artisans to international pharmacological laboratories.
Food
- Crostini con fegatini e acciughe
- Crostini al dragoncello
- Bruschetta
- Cecina (farinata di ceci)
- Pappardelle al cinghiale o alla lepre
- Pasta e ceci
- La panzanella
- La ribollita
- Bistecca alla griglia con rucola (or with mushrooms)
- Fagiano alle olive nere
- Arista di Cinta Senese al forno
- Fiori di zucca fritti, o farciti con acciughe e mozzarella
- Zucchine ripiene
- Castagnaccio
- Panforte, panpepato, ricciarelli, cavallucci e copate (or torrone senese)
Points of Interest
SAN GIOVANNI BATTISTA CHURCH AT PONTE ALLO SPINO
“La pieve”, as the inhabitants of this area lovingly call it, is undoubtedly one of the most important Romanesque monuments in the province of Siena. It rests harmoniously in an open field, surround by a sea of flowers in the spring and summer, when the fields are sown with sunflowers. Its elegant simplicity hosts numerous weddings of both locals and foreigners.
The parish church has ancient origins: dating back to Roman times. At the end of the Roman Empire it was abandoned and only at the end of the 12th century brought back to life, thanks to the hard work of the monks of the nearby abby of Torri. The church was then organised as a totally self-sufficient monastery-fortress. It was a favorite summer residence of the city’s bishop, probably thanks to its proximity to Siena and its safe walls. It is a religious complex of which only partial traces remain compared to what it must have been in the centuries of its maximum splendor. The structure today consists of a central courtyard overlooked by the remains of a cloister, similar to that of Torri but built with rougher stones, and the rectory or bishop’s palace, whose facade is refined with gothic windows.
Fortunately, the church itself has remained intact. It has a classic structure with three naves, each ending with an apsidal basin. The silence and peace are significant when entering this church, but it is the decorations on the capitals of the columns that attract the visitor’s attention: they depict austere abbot monks with episcopal insignia, lush fruits wrapped in swirling leaves, and as was customary at the time, and a rich bestiary of imaginative and allegorical animals.