Two days on a motorbike discovering the places from the life of the “Supreme Poet”

Our journey starts in Ravenna – the place Dante visited last.
This is a city of art, history and culture, rich in monuments and majestic religious buildings, and no fewer than eight of them have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

We start at the Basilica di San Francesco, where the Poet’s funeral took place. Next to the small mausoleum, with its distinctly Romanesque forms, is Dante’s tomb, in the so-called Zona del Silenzio, with the adjacent Quadrarco di Braccioforte and the Franciscan cloisters, which house the Dante Museum.

Follow the SP 253 and you will find yourself just outside of Ravenna, your eyes still filled with beauty.

The route continues along the fields of the lower Romagna plain, through terrain marked by the colours of the crops, towards the ancient town of Bagnacavallo. This town is mentioned by Dante in a famous passage in Purgatory.

On the border with the Kingdom of Lombardy in the Byzantine period, the historic defences are still visible today, making it one of the most interesting tourist destinations in the Ravenna area.

Continuing along the SP 253, you will come across another slice of history and culture: Lugo, squeezed between the Senio and Santerno rivers, and then head towards Imola, beloved by motorcyclists for its famous racing circuit.

Following the course of the Santerno River, you will reach Borgo Tossignano and enter the heart of the Vena del Gesso Regional Park, with its pastel-coloured natural beauty. Riding your bike down the gentle bends in the road will be pure fun.

Take the SP 70 and then the SP 23 and ride along the dual carriageway, where you can lean forwards and negotiate the hairpin bends safely, all the way to Brisighella.
Hospitality and sustainable tourism are the cornerstones of this ancient medieval village, which welcomed Dante Alighieri when he fled from Florence, allowing him refuge in the first moments of his exile.
Don’t miss the Rocca Manfrediana, the Torre dell’Orologio clock tower and the Santuario del Monticino.

Leave Brisighella on the SP 56, then take the SP 57 towards Florence. You will reach Modigliana on the border with Tuscany – a magnificent town in the Tramazzo valley and stronghold of the Guidi counts, who hosted Dante in their castles several times.
Taking the SP 21 towards Dovadola, you will reach Portico di Romagna.
Here, you will make your first stop of the day, at the Touring Club Italiano’s Bandiera Arancione site – the same site where the Portinari family, the family of Dante’s beloved Beatrice, owned a palazzo, which still bears their name.

The route starts again along the SS 67. You will pass through the small town of Bocconi, which stretches towards the Muraglione Pass and, after its adrenaline-fuelled curves, you will arrive in the middle of the Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi, at San Benedetto in Alpe.

Here, you can view the marvellous Acquacheta Waterfall, described by Dante in the 16th canto of Inferno. The Apennine landscape, stretching between Romagna and Tuscany, lies before you in all its splendour.

The time has come to take the road down to Florence, the Supreme Poet’s home city, which he loved deeply, and which exiled him on 10 March 1302.

Along the busy SS 67 which leads workers and tourists in and out of Florence, you reach Pontassieve, surrounded by olive groves and vineyards, and then take the SR 70 towards Poppi.
In a few miles you will be surrounded by the wild beauty of the Casentino forests, crossing the SS 310, which leads you to Stia and then to the Passo della Calla – the “selva oscura” (dark forest) described famously by Dante. This circular route takes you back towards your start point: the descent towards the Adriatic begins, where you will encounter Santa Sofia, Galeata and Predappio.

With the SP 4, full of hairpin bends, you will first climb up to the Rocca delle Caminate, then descend to the Rocca di Meldola. These are the places where Dante lived during his 20 years of exile. Continue to Forli, a city where he stayed several times.

Before returning to Ravenna, you must make a diversion to Bertinoro, a natural balcony to the sea, a city of hospitality, which also welcomed Dante at the court of Guido Novello Da Polenta.

Stop for a coffee, perhaps at one of the tables in the main piazza, enjoy the view for a few minutes and then off you go, jump back into the saddle on the last stage of our Poet’s journey and life.

You are now very close to the finish line. What will strike you are the pine forests of Cervia and Classe, whose extraordinary beauty fascinated Dante to his core.

From Classe Abbey you will proceed towards the Adriatic, returning to Ravenna – the starting point of your journey and our final stop. Here, you can lose yourself, just like the Poet, in the colourful mosaics, artistic treasures appreciated all over the world.