In exploration in Campi Flegrei
Sport, culture and total relax is the perfect mix for who decide to participate in this tour. We’ll leave from Naples, we will cross Posillipo with it’s magnificent views and along the litoral we can admire the majestic Castel dell'Ovo.
Entering in the heart of Campi Flegrei, one of the oldest zones in our territory, entire chapters of history will overlap, custodied by Rione Terra, the Anfiteatro Flavio, the Solfatara of Pozzuoli. We’ll continue to pedal along the paved roads passing in the suggestive Aragonese Castle of Baia, Piscina Mirabilis and the Casina Vanvitelliana .
Exciting will be the views offered by the volcanic lakes: Lucrino, Miseno, Fusaro and the Averno one where we’ll meet a little fairly smooth stretch of dirt road.
Finally, we will end our journey by heading back to Naples.
ITINERARY IN BRIEF
Total Cycling Km 68 km approx. - Total height difference 870 m approx.
Meeting with the Guide and technical assistance for
the initial briefing: at Piazza del Plebiscito,
Naples at 08:00 approx.
Departure of the tour around 08.30 am
Difficulty: medium
Duration: no visits 4/5 hours
with visits 8/9 hours
Piazza del Plebiscito: Located in the historical centtre, between the seafront and Via Toledo, is considered one of biggest in the city and in Italy and therefore utilized for big events. This place was used for centuries as an irregular widening, where popular festivals were held around so-called party machines. Only since the seventeenth century was it gradually "regularized", also as a result of the construction of the new Royal Palace, by Domenico Fontana. From the mid-eighteenth century, more and more radical interventions were carried out by architects already engaged in building the overlooking Royal Palace.
Point of interest:
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Castel dell'Ovo: It is the oldest castle in the city of Naples and is one of the elements that stand out most in the famous panorama of the gulf. It is located between the neighborhoods of San Ferdinando and Chiaia, in front of the Mergellina area. Due to various events that have partly destroyed
the original Norman aspect and thanks to the subsequent reconstruction work that took place during the Angevin and Aragonese periods, the architectural line of the castle has changed drastically.
Rione Terra of Pozzuoli: No expression can better describe this area than that of Alberto Angela: "There is a neighborhood where the chapters of the long history of Pozzuoli have overlapped as pages of a book, the Rione Terra". In fact, it is the only place in the Puteolano territory that has been the protagonist of all historical developments: from the early years of Greek and Roman colonization to the modern era.
The Anfiteatro Flavio: Is one of the two Roman amphitheaters existing in Pozzuoli and dates back to the second half of the 1st century AD Some texts report its construction under Vespasian and its inauguration probably by Tito. According to some scholars, the presence of masonry realized with the opus reticulatum technique, would make us think of its realization under Nero, then removed with a damnatio memoriae process.
Piscina Mirabilis: In Miseno, during the Augustan period the largest drinking water cistern was built to supply the Classis Misenensis, the most important fleet of the Roman Empire, moored in the port of Miseno. Entirely excavated in the tuff, it was the terminal reservoir of the Augustan aqueduct which, from the Serino springs, brought water to Naples and the Phlegraean Fields. In the central nave there is a swimming pool that was used as a settling and drain tank for the periodic cleaning and emptying of the tank.
Casina Vanvitelliana: Starting from 1752 the area of ​​the Fusaro, at the time scarcely inhabited, became the hunting and fishing reserve of the Bourbons, who entrusted to Luigi Vanvitelli the first works for the transformation of the place. Having ascended to the throne Ferdinando IV the interventions
were completed by Carlo Vanvitelli, son of Luigi, who in 1782 built the Casino Reale di Caccia on the lake, a short distance from the shore. This building, known as Casina Vanvitelliana, was used as the residence of illustrious guests, such as Francis II of Habsburg-Lorraine, who stayed here in May 1819. Inside the building were
welcomed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gioachino Rossini and, more recently , the President of the Republic Luigi Einaudi.
The Solfatara of Pozzuoli: is one of the forty volcanoes that make up the Phlegraean Fields and is located about three kilometers from the center of the city of Pozzuoli. It is an ancient volcanic crater still active but in a state of quiescence, which for about two millennia has been conserving sulfur dioxide fumaroles, boiling mud jets and high soil temperature. Other similar activities are also found in other parts of the world and are indicated with the name of sulfatare due to the similarity with the Puteolan one. The Solfatara is today a vent valve for magma present under the Campi Flegrei, thanks to which it is possible to maintain a constant pressure of underground gases.
The view from Sant’s ramps Antonio: Among the streets of Naples that reserve us great surprises there are the ramps of Sant’Antonio to Posillipo, also called thirteen descents of Sant’Antonio.From there you can admire the colorful roofs, the narrow streets the stairs that connect the whole city, a unique landscape that goes from Vesuvius to Mergellina up to Castel San Martino.The pedestrian path was restored by the Duke of Medina Ramiro de Guzman in 1643, in order to facilitate the path of the pilgrims who wanted to reach the Church of San Antonio; a natural Via Crucis that tired the legs and consolidated the charm of the sacred place to reach.
Cost per person *
from 4/5 to max 15 pax € 110.00 / person.
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Services included
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Guide;
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Bicycle**;
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Safety helmet.
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Services not included:
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Entrance to museums *;
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Lunch.
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Supplements:
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MTB supplement, trekking: € 15.00;
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Electric bike supplement: € 25.00.
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Supplement for 1/2 person: € 25.00 per person
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On request we can book tickets to visit: Castel dell'Ovo (tribute) Underground archaeological path of Rione Terra (€ 5.00 per person) Flavian Amphitheater (€ 4.00 per person) Mirabilis pool (free) Casina Vanvitelliana (€ 3.00 per person) (the ticket price may vary depending on the period and the number of people)
Customized tours on request. * booking and further information send an email to: info@irentbike.com
**for this tour, I Rent Bike gives you a trekking bike, really comfortable for city routes and for long trips.