Average itinerary time | 1 hour and 30 minutes |
Technical difficulties | None |
Cyclability | Total (suitable for any age group) |
Altitude gain/loss | +/- 160 |
Length | 19km |
Start | Cellatica |
The route starts in Via XXV Aprile/SP 10 at a parking area at the beginning of the town. Continue in the direction of Gussago. (If you are fit you can detour to Santuario della Madonna della Stella along a 2.5 km road with a 15/20% gradient).
At the traffic lights turn left into Via Carabioli and take a paved road that first runs alongside the industrial area and then continues through fields. Pass a small bridge and turn right to a stop sign, following the numerous cycle path to Paratico signs. At the end of Via Sale, a hamlet of Gussago with its medieval and renaissance houses, follow the signs for the cycle path one last time, turning left off it at the small roundabout into Via Monticello and then right at the next roundabout into Via Valia. Right on the bend (pay the utmost attention here) turn left into a narrow tree-lined road, Via Staffoli, to signs to the cycle path to Paratico.
A pleasant road through wheat fields and vineyards takes you across a wooden bridge towards the long and ancient wall of Abbazia di Rodengo Saiano: a visit and a stop are a must to admire the Chiesa di S. Nicola and its cloisters.
After getting back on your bike again, take Via Brescia and continue downhill through the underpass and the centre of Rodengo Saiano to a first roundabout where you turn right into Via Ponte Cingoli and Via Risorgimento and pass through the whole village. A small narrow section (with Chiesa di S. Rocco on your right) takes you to via Gussago. Continue to a roundabout and onto Via S. Zenone (Santuario della Santissima is in front of you on its hill) and then Via Ronco.
The road climbs slightly and, after Ronco di Gussago cemetery, turn right at the first crossroads to circumnavigate the Santissima on a dirt road (3 km).
This takes you along the hill to the little church of S. Gaetano Santolino to Via Pinidolo at the end of which you turn left into Via Nava and, after the stop sign, Via Richiedei, once again turning left. In Piazza Vittorio Veneto, the imposing Parrochiale di S. Maria Assunta with its marble staircase and two lions, is visible in front of you. Turn right into Via IV Novembre and then follow the road signs for Cellatica and Brescia. Via De Gasperi brings you back to your Cellatica starting point once again.