From the 2,000 meters of the Sirino to the sea of Maratea, from the Sassi of Matera to the lunar badlands: Basilicata is discovered in the saddle, choosing between great permanent routes and events that combine competition and sharing along 725 km of wonder.
There is a speed that belongs only to the bicycle. Neither running nor waiting: it is something intermediate, that cadence of pedaling that truly allows you to see what you are crossing. And Basilicata, a land that does not let itself be read quickly, seems made for being traveled in this way.
It is not necessary to be athletes to discover it on two wheels. The offer is so wide as to welcome anyone: from the couple looking for a different afternoon, to a group of friends with a bit rusty legs, to the enthusiast who wants to test his endurance and technique. For those who have some fear of climbs, electric-assist bicycles have solved every hesitation, opening up itineraries that until yesterday seemed closed off to most.
Orienting yourself has never been so simple
APT Basilicata has developed digital tools designed for those who travel on two wheels. The Route Basilicata app provides tracks and information for walkers and cyclists. The Basilicata Free to Move app goes further: it gathers dozens of routes with GPX tracks, points out bicycle repair shops, bike hotels, restaurants and – a precious detail – drinking water fountains along the way.
Hidden surprises
The name Basilicata Coast to Coast – made famous by the film of the same name by Rocco Papaleo – is perhaps the most exploited for several cycle tourism routes. All hide continuous surprises.
What is the ferula that accompanies riders along the roadside? How many have tasted the pasta with green beans and cacioricotta typical of Bernalda? How many have seen the beach of Nova Siri where Francesco Rosi shot some scenes of “Tre fratelli”, nominated for an Oscar in 1982? And how many have smelled the perfume of lime trees in the emerald woods of Trecchina? Small, exquisite treasures to run into around each corner.
Going down is an art
For those who prefer descent to ascent, Basilicata offers something extreme: the 2mulozer0 route, which starts from the peak of Monte Sirino at 2,000 meters and ends on the beach of Maratea. In between, 75 kilometers of mountain bike along the Noce Valley – trails, mule tracks, villages, woods and shimmering water – in a nature that does not need adjectives to qualify itself.
Among the most evocative MTB routes are Il Giardino degli Dei on the Pollino, the Sentiero Frassati in the Lucano Apennine Park, Monte Malerba in the Small Lucanian Dolomites and Villaggio Pianelle in the Park of Rupestrian Churches of Matera.
The ride of rides
Fifteen stages, 725 kilometers, one fundamental question: what really is Basilicata? The Anello dei Parchi Lucani tries to answer pedal by pedal, on a route almost entirely asphalted – except for brief passages on cobblestone or pavement – open to every type of bicycle, but with climbs that demand trained legs and a free schedule. The starting point is Maratea, with the Christ the Redeemer dominating from above. From here you take the former Calabro-Lucanian railway bed, which leads to Lake Sirino and then to the entrance of the Pollino National Park. The Serra di Crispo, at 1,445 meters, is the first great conquest: from there the descent toward the Ionian Sea offers changes in light and landscape that are worth the trip.
Valsinni appears, a town that holds the memory of Isabella Morra, then Colobraro, known for its reputation as a haunted village: from the ancient Basilian cenobium of Santa Maria di Cironofrio the view embraces the Sinni Valley to the sea. The landscape changes again in the Calanchi Park, where the earth takes on shapes that recall the lunar surface, a unique feature in the Italian panorama. One touches Craco Vecchia, the abandoned village that has served as a background for several films, and arrives in Tursi, where the Rabatana, an ancient quarter of Arab origin, was the silent source of the poems of Albino Pierro, multiple Nobel nominee.
Matera, with the Sassi declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, shows itself from the saddle with a familiarity that no other means of transport can return.
The ride continues toward Venosa, the birthplace of the Latin poet Horace, crosses the Vulture Park – land of Aglianico and this year Italian Wine City – skirts the twin lakes of Monticchio and rises among the forests of Arioso-Sellata. It climbs again toward the Sirino massif before the final descent and once again the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Names like novel titles
The Ciclovia Meridiana is a 308-kilometer loop that moves from Potenza and crosses the region: beech woods, Sasso di Castalda, Marsico Nuovo, the silent remains of Grumentum. The highest point is reached near the Madonna del Sasso at 1,372 meters, from which you descend toward Lagonegro with the coast of Maratea appearing in the distance like a promise. Another segment of the route runs along the former Calabro-Lucanian railway track, over intact bridges and tunnels, to the abandoned station of Lauria, where time seems to have stopped on purpose. Further on is Viggiano, where the sanctuary of the Black Madonna, patroness of the Lucanians, stands. Then the climb to the Abetina of Laurenzana: at 1,200 meters above sea level, a forest of white firs between light and silence. Returning to Potenza passes through Sellata and the Pantano Oasis.
In Basilicata even bike paths seem to have a literary vocation: the Ciclovia dei Boschi Sacri, that of the Two Seas, of Grain and Oil and Wine, of the Small Lucanian Dolomites, of the Calanchi. For those who want more there is the Grand Tour of Basilicata, which says it all in its name.
