Holiday House Tour of Sannio - Road Bike
An adrenaline and spectacular tour, which brings us to racing bike among the most beautiful bell mountains. We will pedal through the Matese promontory, visit Padre Pio's native and infantile house at Pietrelcina, and finally sculpt the Taburno Camposauro massif. Our starting point will be the suggestive medieval village of Cusano Mutri, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, where our beautiful independent villa is situated, immersed in the woods to enjoy the tranquility of the surrounding nature. An ideal starting point not only for our bike tours, but also to take advantage of the many hiking trails.
First day:
Cusano Mutri-Pietrelcina
Path: Medium difficulty
Distance: about 105 Km.
Difference in altitude: about 1400 mt.
Journey time: about 5 hours (excluding visits).
Journey time whit stops: about 7 hours (including visits).
Cusano Mutri: "[...] I'll tell you in a few words it is a delightful place. In fact there is clear water, green, peace, quiet life rest and fertile land. There are simple arts, generous wines; and the people are good, illustrious characters, clean, hospitable and pious. » (Vincenzo Fiore, pastor, 1906) Cusano Mutri is an Italian town of 4,132 inhabitants of the province of Benevento in Campania. It is part of the Regional Park of Matese and the Mountain Community Titerno. Located on the southern slope of the Matese, incorporated in the ancient Sannio Pentro, today the border between Campania and Molise. It is 20 km from the ancient Roman city of Telesia on the southwest side, in Campania, and 30 km away from the other Roman cities Altilia (Saepinum), in Molise, on the northeast side. Its territory covers approximately 60 km², with a minimum altitude of 257 m at the throat of Lavella - and a maximum of 1823 m of Monte Mutria, at the border with Molise. According to historians, Cusano Mutri is the Samnite Cossa, or Cosano, destroyed by the Romans along with Telesia. The name, which would mean "the cup", would also indicate the topographical configuration from which derives the primitive ideographic symbol "Q", representing the circle of mountains with his Lavello throat, the only outlet. Certain news emerge only in A.D. 490, when Pope Felix III sent a priest to officiate in the chapel of the castrum (castle).
Pietrelcina: It borders the capital of its province and its center is about 12 km.
Pietrelcina is located on a hill just over 340 m above sea level on the right side of the river Tammaro. The altitude range of the municipal area ranges from a minimum of 152 m s.l.m. to 569 m s.l.m.
Home of Padre Pio: The birthplace of the saint of Pietrelcina is located at number 27 in Vico Storto Valle and it is not made up of a single unit but, instead, by more rooms that look out on the same road. In this house was born Francesco Forgione, in the bedroom of the parents, at 17 of May 25, 1887 when his mother had just returned from the country after helping her husband Horace. In the floor of the bedroom there is a trap door that led to the warehouse where laid the Padre Pio's father's work donkey used to go to work in the countryside. At number 28 there are two other rooms: the kitchen, the fireplace and the original furnishings, and the bedroom of some children, subsequently became the dining room. According to the belief, in this room Padre Pio made his first supernatural experience. In the room Padre Pio used often sleep on the floor, using a stone for a pillow. Other house, a place of pilgrimage, is the home of Padre Pio's brother, Michael, where the saint lived between 1912 and 1916.
Second day:
Cusano Mutri-Campitello Matese
Path: Medium difficulty
Distance: about 115 Km.
Difference in altitude: about 2000 mt.
Journey time: about 5 hours (excluding visits).
Journey time whit stops: about 7 hours (including visits).
Matese Lake: It is the italian tallest karst lake, located at the foot of Mount Miletto (2050 m) and Mount Gallinola (1923 m), in the mountain range of the Matese, in the municipality of San Gregorio Matese and Castello Matese in the province of Caserta. It is filled with water from the melting snows of Mount Miletto and Gallinola and some perennial springs. In the marsh vegetation that characterizes the lake refuge many types of birds: goose, teal, coot, mallard and have also been reported the stork and the pink flamingo. Among the species of fish are: pike, trout, tench, carp, perch.
Campitello Matese: is part of the municipality of San Massimo (Campobasso province) and is a popular winter sports center in central-southern. The plateau is situated in the Sumnite Apennines , inside the Matese Massif, 1450 m above sea level, and behind it stands Monte Miletto (2050m above sea level in the municipality of Roccamandolfi), the highest summit of the massif, while other important mountains are Mount Croce and the Gallinola. An important feature of Campitello Matese is its Piana: mountains conclude, in fact around a large flat valley, which on the occasion of the spring becomes a lake. Also in the spring you can see the characteristic snowdrop flowers decorating with their natural beauty the mountains. The mountain range is part of the Matese, karst area, which has beautiful forests, caves, landscapes, fossils and more. They are practiced various sports in these mountains, from skiing to mountain biking, climbing on the rocks, up to paragliding. Campitello Matese is also a place known to cycling enthusiasts for being several times been the finishing stage of the Giro d'Italia: the first in 1969, the last in 2015. The characteristics of the ascent from San Massimo Campitello (13 , 5 km long and 850 m in altitude, average gradient of 6.4%) make it one of the most challenging of the Apennines mountain top finishes.
Third Day:
Cusano Mutri-Taburno
Path: Medium difficulty
Distance: about 100 Km.
Difference in altitude: about 2400 mt.
Journey time: about 6 hours (excluding visits).
Journey time whit stops: about 8 hours (including visits).
Taburno: The Taburnus is a limestone massif isolated from the Campanian Apennines. It is located on the west side of Benevento, which is a few kilometers distant, and lies entirely in that province. On the northern side, the massif is separated from the mountains of Matese by the Telese Valley, crossed by the river Calore, while on the southern side, the Caudina Valley separates it from the mountains of Partenio. The highest peaks are Mount Taburno (1394 m above sea level), the Camposauro (1388 m above sea level), Mount Alto Rotondi (1305 m above sea level), Mount Sant'Angelo (1189 m above sea level), Mount Gaudello (1226 m above sea level ) and Mount Pentime (1168 m above sea level), to form a semi-circle in the middle of the Vitulanese Valley. The born period of the massif is the secondary era (Mesozoic). The massif is made up of two limestone blocks separated by the tectonic depression of Prata Piana. From the town of Benevento the massive profile takes the shape of a woman on her back, with her feet towards the Caudina valley and head (Monte Pentime) towards Telese Valley, and is therefore called the "Sleeper of Sannio." The lack of water courses determines the absence of much richer ecosystem of species. The animal species that characterizes the Mount Taburno is the raven. Then there is the nuthatch, the buzzard, redwing, small passerines and small mammals.
You can view photos in detail of our holiday house located in Cusano Mutri by linking to the following Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/113120573613321927916/posts/6bMRds3MXub
** For this tour, the Rent Bike offers a comfortable and reactive carbon bike, ideal for long distances on asphalt