Trail Name(s): Franciacorta Pas Dose/Itinerario 2/Percorso Blu (Blue)
Trail Type: Mid-distance circuit; surfaces mostly hard-packed gravel, or paved in built up areas; well maintained and fairly well-marked.
Length: Total – 30 kilometers/18.6 miles
Marking: Brown rectangular signage with white and blue writing (“Itinerario 2 Percorso Blu”)
Trail Description: A delightful ride through towns, fields, and vineyards; following along a combination of pedestrian/cycle paths with paved or hard-packed surfaces, and roads, lightly-travelled in most cases (with one major exception – SP 46-47 outside Corneto to Villa). Some long, but gradual, gradients.
Trailheads:
Rodengo a Saiano/Ponte Cingoli, at Abbey Olivetana on Via Brescia (official)
Provaglio: San Pietro in Lamosa (mine)
Parking Possibilities:
Rodengo a Saiano/Ponte Cingole: large lot opposite Abbey Olivetana on Via Brescia
Provaglio D’Iseo: large lot near San Pietro in Lamosa, stretching along SP XI/SP 71
Passirano: large lot at the sport fields on SP 49
Public Transportation Options:
Rail: to Iseo from Brescia, stops at Provaglio D’Iseo
Suggested Stages: Not applicable
Trail Itinerary-Reference Points:
Provaglio D’Iseo: Monastery of San Pietro in Lamosa; then Via Sebina, Via Per Monterotondo through fields and vineyards to Monterotondo: Via Silvio Pellico/SP 49 to Via Bachelet; Passirano: sport fields opposite a cemetery; traffic circle, (see comment below) SP 49, through town center; Paderno: Via Roma-Via Trento; under highway, industrial zone, dirt track; Via dei Tre Cortili-Via Case Nuove (Alternate: At Via Roma, continue straight onto Via del Bettolino, to join Via Case Nuove); over highway to Via Brescia; Rodengo a Saiano/Ponte Cingole: Via Brescia-Via Cantarana; Maglio Averoldi (an historic mill and forge); SP 47bis-Via Villa; Monticelli Brusati: Via Torre, under highway; Provezze: Via Caduto Franchini-Via Fiume; Provaglio D’Iseo: Via XXV Aprile, Via Olimpia, to intersection with Via Sebina
Representative Trail Photos:
Restrooms: One public facility observed at San Pietro in Lamosa, otherwise plenty of bars (which cost a purchase).
Attractions on or near Trail:
Rodengo Saiano/Ponte Cingoli: Abbazia Olivetana di San Nicola
Borgo Villa: a picturesque hamlet outside Montecelli Brusati
Provaglio D’Iseo:
Monastery of San Pietro in Lamosa, Romanesque and picturesque
Torbiere del Sebino: Peat bogs, used advantageously by monks, now a nature preserve, with hiking and biking trails
Outside Ome: Maglio Averoldi, a historic mill and forge area with a museum.
Tasting along the Trail: This circuit passes by or near the Villa, Chiara Ziliani, Mosnel, and Mirabella wineries, but advance reservations are required to visit.
Alternative Options:
Bike: to lengthen your biking experience, consider passing to the Saten/1/Giallo circuit at Provaglio by heading toward the train station on Via Stazione Nuova from SP 71.
Car: Strada del Vino Franciacorte, a longer, motor touring road through significant wine production sites
Additional Information:
Regional: http://www.agenzialagoiseofranciacorta.it/franciacorta2.htm
Trail (segment) specific: http://www.franciacorta.net/it/percorsi//#anchor-submenu
Comments:
This is one of a series of five wine-themed circuits, each approximately 30 kilometers long. They can be combined to make a longer ride, as some either overlap, or come close to overlapping, at several places.
It is possible to join the Extra Brut/5/Percorso Nero circuit when passing through Rodengo Saiano/Ponte Cingoli; and join the Saten/1/Percorso Giallo, when passing through Monterotondo.
Being a circuit, it is possible to begin anywhere. Parking areas, as identified above, are suitable for alternative start points.
Of the related circuits I biked, this passed the fewest wineries, but had some interesting sites to visit.
Comment on the itinerary: On the GPX tracks I downloaded, the circuit varied a bit around Passirano. At the traffic circle, it headed north on Via Giuseppe Cesare Abba, past il Mosnel Winery, then back to Passirano along V. A. Diaz-Via G. Marconi, through town center, and out on Via Castello (castle) to Via Roma, where it rejoined the map itinerary at Paderno’s Via Roma x Via Trento.