Vincentian Alps in northern Italy: Explore forgotten paths on a racing bike
Matthias Rotter
· 25.04.2025
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A street could not have a more inappropriate name: Strada del Re, King's Road. Only the view here is royal. Well, the days of kings in Italy are long gone, since 18 June 1946 to be precise, but this road and its surface are borderline, not only for narrow tyres, but also for those with weak nerves - at least if they are not free from giddiness.
The latter, however, is only experienced after a few kilometres. Kilometres with huge potholes, or rather: only sporadic asphalt. In this respect, my buddy Axel and I are actually pretty hardened. As long as entire pelotons are chased over gravel passes on the big national tours, the little bit of bumping on our racing bikes can't affect us! We stagger around the craters in the brittle tarmac as if drunk. Not so easy with a solid ten per cent gradient. But what don't you do to experience the history of a region authentically? The Strada del Re was opened towards the end of the First World War by the Italian King Victor Emmanuel III and leads from the Passo di Campogrosso to the Fugazze Pass - and thus to the foot of the Pasubio massif. This suggests that, like most of the mountain roads in the region, it served a military purpose. Why else would a daring route be carved into the crumbling eastern flank of the Piccole Dolomiti?
After the war, rockfall and erosion affected the Strada del Re to such an extent that it was soon closed to motorised traffic. And when a landslide washed several hundred metres of road into the abyss in 2009, it was forgotten for many years and threatened to fall into complete disrepair. Fortunately, things turned out differently. Today, a dizzying suspension bridge closes the gap left by the landslide - the key point for cyclists because the bridge, which is more than a hundred metres long, is so narrow that you have to balance your bikes over it on the rear wheel. Those who are not afraid of the airy, swaying exposure are rewarded with a breathtaking view whose contrasts could hardly be greater. Behind you, the ash-grey rocky peaks of the Piccole Dolomiti tower into the sky, while on the other side the view extends far out into the Po Valley. Mountains and plains - two extremes right next to each other, that's what makes the southern edge of the Alps so fascinating. Added to this is its war-torn past. To the east, 60 kilometres from the suspension bridge, Monte Grappa rises out of the Po Valley, a symbol of bloodshed, where the remains of almost 13,000 Italian and more than 10,000 Austrian soldiers are buried. But in this region, almost every peak can tell its own bloody story ... At the end of the Strada del Re, we reach the Passo di Campogrosso. There are more racing cyclists on the road again. One of the hardest climbs in the region leads from Recoaro Terme in the Agno Valley to the pass - on comparatively good tarmac - and you can also reward yourself with a rest at the top at the beautifully situated Rifugio Campogrosso. We meet Michele Meneguzzo and his mate Fiorindo Busellato in front of the house. The two Italians are always on the lookout for extremes; no climb is too steep and no distance too long for them. They belong to the "Randagi Veneti", the "Venetian strays"; not a real cycling club, but rather a loose association of cyclists from Vicenza.
However, their rides and activities are anything but relaxed. Fiorindo recently completed a double Everesting on his local mountain, says Michele, more than 17,000 metres in altitude on a 500-metre climb, always up and down. Michele talks about it as if it were the most natural thing in the world and his mate is just a bit of a mad dog. But of course he is just as crazy about cycling himself: you can meet him at long-distance marathons anywhere in the Alps.
Faded beauty
We follow them, which works well on the descent to Recoaro. Bend after bend, the little road descends into a valley typical of the Vicenza Alps. As the crow flies, we are less than 20 kilometres from the Adige Valley and yet in a completely different world. We can speak of forgotten valleys, both in a positive and a negative sense. On the one hand, they are nowhere near as well-known and crowded as the valleys along the main routes to the south - the few racing cyclists we meet are mostly locals. On the other hand, places like Recoaro Terme represent the other side of the tranquillity and solitude coin.
There's no mistaking that this charming spa town has seen better days. The thermal baths have been closed indefinitely and the rusty cable car to the small ski resort has long been out of service. Recoaro was so popular in the 19th century that a tram line even ran there from Vicenza. Down the valley in Valdagno, you can still marvel at an old railway carriage at the disused station. What remains is Recoaro's wonderful location at the foot of the Piccole Dolomiti. After an espresso in the village square, Michele and Fiorindo accompany us over the Passo Xon, which is only 671 metres high and leads back to our starting point of Schio. One pass more or less is not important to them.
Ernest Hemingway once described Schio as one of the most beautiful places in the world. Today, this is not immediately obvious. But it would be a mistake to ignore the town just because of a few abandoned factory buildings. As early as the beginning of the 15th century, it developed into a centre of wool production with over 5,000 fallen soldiers from the First World War. Later, the entrepreneur Alessandro Rossi established the textile industry on a grand scale. The abandoned Fabbrica Alta is both an architectural monument and an art space. Hidden between the walls is a wonderful garden that Rossi had created for his workers to relax in, modelled on the pattern of jacquard fabrics and decorated with exotic plants, stone grottos and a small castle.
Before we set off on another tour the next day, we enjoy the charm of this city, which has not yet been taken over by tourism, early in the morning in a bar on the square in front of the cathedral. The espresso machine is steaming, the Scledensi - as the locals call themselves - are doing their shopping under the arcades and a bronze statue of Alessandro Rossi greets us from a column opposite. Today we're heading back to the Pasubio massif, on whose rocky peaks the Alpini and Kaiserjäger faced each other for more than two years during the First World War, just a few hundred metres apart; a pointless war of position. At the end of the hopeless battles, the troops began to undermine each other. The underground race ended with a massive blast that completely collapsed the Dente Italiano, the Italian plateau, a 2,220 metre high secondary peak on the main ridge of the mountain. An ossuary at the start of the Strada del Re commemorates the thousands of fallen.
High road into solitude
Michele had recommended the Xomo mountain road the day before, which approaches the Pasubio from the east. But this is only one of several options, as the entire mountain range between Schio and the Pasubio is criss-crossed by tarmac roads. You just have to find them, as the signposting is either cryptic or non-existent. Fortunately, the Randagi Veneti guys have provided us with GPS tracks. Our ascent begins right on the outskirts of Schio and winds its way up in beautiful hairpin bends. After ten kilometres, with just over half of the ascent to Passo Xomo completed, we take a break at the church of Santa Caterina, where there is a water point. More than 800 metres above our heads is the summit plateau of Monte Novegno, which can be reached from Santa Caterina on a gravel road and is therefore very popular with gravel bikers. At the top, as on almost all the peaks around, you will find old fortresses, tunnels, trenches and fortified positions.
However, we follow the tarmac mountain road, which winds along the slope in complete solitude. The forest is dense, but there are always gaps between the trees that offer a view back down into the valley. For example at the Monumento Caduti per la Libertà, one of numerous war memorials in the Vicenza Alps. The road finally ends at Passo Xomo, which played an important role in the First World War. This is where two military roads start, both leading to the summit plateau of the Pasubio. The original Strada Scarubbi runs along an open slope covered only with grass and mountain pines, but in the course of the fighting it was increasingly exposed to Austrian fire. For this reason, the Alpini painstakingly drilled a second, safer supply route through the rock. The Strada delle 52 Gallerie, the road of 52 tunnels, winds its way up more than six kilometres to the former front line, 2.3 kilometres of which lead through tunnels, the shortest of which is only ten metres long, while the longest measures 318 metres. However, this scary adventure is only allowed on foot. My buddy Axel and I briefly discuss whether we should try the equally spectacular Scarubbi road to reach the summit plateau of the Pasubio. After all, after our adventure on the Strada del Re, no pothole-ridden road can shock us. But in view of the ten kilometres of rough gravel, common sense prevails. And we also need a reason to return to the Pasubio on the Gavelbike.
Schio is located around 30 kilometres northwest of Vicenza, right on the edge of the Alps. The Po Valley forms a kind of basin there, so that the town is surrounded by mountains on almost three sides: To the north, the foothills of the Central Dolomites and to the west the Pasubio massif, the Little Dolomites and behind them, before the Adige Valley, the Monti Lessini. To the west of Vicenza, the Alps ebb away in long chains of mountains and hills, which finally form the Monti Berici in the far south. Schio has around 40,000 inhabitants and merges almost seamlessly with the towns of Marano and Thiene to the east. To the west of the town, the Leogra Valley runs up to the Passo Pian delle Fugazze, across whose incision runs the border with Trentino.
GPS data for retracing the tours in the Vicenza Alps
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Information about the Vizentin Alps
Journey
Railway: Schio is easy to reach by train. First you travel over the Brenner Pass to Vicenza. From Munich, Railjet trains (RJ) operated by the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) terminate in Venice and take just over six hours to Vicenza without changing trains; bike transport costs 14.80 euros, bike parking 3 euros, information at www.oebb.at. The journey to Schio takes around 50 minutes by regional train, information at www.trenitalia.com (also in German).
Car: From Germany, first either via Munich or via Füssen and the Fernpass to Innsbruck. Take the A13 motorway over the Brenner Pass to the Rovereto Nord exit. This is followed by 50 kilometres of country road. From Frankfurt am Main it is 770 kilometres. You will have to pay a toll of just over 60 euros for the return journey, with a 10-day toll sticker in Austria.
Best time to travel
On the southern edge of the Alps, the locals are in the saddle almost all year round. Even at altitudes of over a thousand metres, the winter snow cover is becoming increasingly thin - or even disappears completely. The ideal temperatures for road cycling are in early and late summer. If you catch a period of fine weather in autumn, you will experience fantastic days with very little traffic on the side roads. As usual in Italy, you should avoid the holiday months of July and August.
Accommodation
Schio is not a tourist stronghold, which is why the range of accommodation is rather limited. Some options are located in the surrounding area, including agriturismos and B&Bs. There is no campsite near the town, but the town does have an inexpensive pitch for motorhomes near the centre. Overview at www.visitschio.it (Italian, English).
Schio: Hotel Miramonti, telephone 0039/0445/529900, www.hotelmiramonti.com
Comfortable city hotel without a restaurant, but with a sumptuous breakfast, within walking distance of the old town. Double room with breakfast from 87 euros. Flats for up to four people are also available: from 385 euros per week, breakfast 15 euros per person.
Bike service
SchioCicli Rampon, telephone 0039/0445/670730, www.ciclirampon.it
Food & Drink
Rice, corn, beans, radicchio and fish are the cornerstones of the Veneto region's cuisine. A typical dish from Vicenza is bacalà alla vicentina: stockfish prepared with onions, anchovies, spices, milk and parmesan. It is usually served with polenta, and the corn cake is also commonly served in numerous variations as a main meal. Especially in the mountains, polenta is often combined with melted cheese. Speaking of cheese: Asiago cheese from the village of the same name has become world famous. In general, meat does not play a major role, if it does, then as grilled pork, chicken or beef. When it comes to sausages, sopressa, a type of salami, is well known, only softer and enriched with garlic. On the other hand, rice from the Po Valley, pasta and pulses are very popular. The dish "Pasta e Fagioli" even combines pasta with beans. One regional type of pasta is bigoli, a kind of thick, rough spaghetti, not unlike spaetzle. Bigoli is available in a light-coloured and a darker wholemeal version.
DrinkVeneto is the most productive wine-growing region in Italy. The vines are mainly planted in the western part of the region (Valpolicella) and around the city of Treviso in the middle of the Po Valley.
Restaurant tip
Schio: Ristorante Da Beppino Telephone, 0039/0445/670139, www.ristorantedabeppino.com
This upscale restaurant in the east of Schio serves traditional Venetian cuisine. In addition to pasta, polenta and meat, the menu also includes the now rare bacalà fish dish.
Don't miss it!
Excursion to Vicenza: The provincial capital, which has a population of around 100,000, can be reached by regional train in just under an hour. On the approach through industrial estates, Vicenza's reputation as an industrial city is confirmed; racing bike fans will be familiar with the city as the headquarters of component manufacturer Campagnolo. The historic city centre stands in stark contrast to this. Numerous Renaissance palaces by the famous architect Andrea Palladio have elevated the city to the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site - above all the Basilica Palladiana, which even impressed Goethe during his trip to Italy. The centre around the Piazza dei Signori is a paradise for shopping, especially on Tuesday and Thursday market days. Or you can simply enjoy the hustle and bustle in the alleyways from a street café. If you would like to find out more about the architect Palladio, you can visit the museum of the same name; information at www.palladiomuseum.org
Hiking on the Strade delle 52 Gallerie: The Road of 52 Tunnels is probably the most spectacular military road in the Alps. During the First World War, it was used to supply the Italian positions on the Pasubio. However, today this mountain path can only be travelled on foot, bicycles are forbidden, even if pushed! The road starts on the valley side at the Bocchetta di Campiglia (1,216 metres) and ends after 6.3 kilometres and 700 metres higher up at the Rifugio Achille Papa. The car park at the Bocchetta is about two kilometres above the Passo Xomo (Tour 1) and is signposted from there.
Tip: Be sure to take a headlamp or torch with you!
Map
Road map "Trentino-South Tyrol, Veneto", 1:200,000, Freytag & Berndt 2022; 12.90 euros >> available here.
Info
Consorzio Turistico Vicenza è Tourist Board of Vicenza and Province, telephone 0039/0444/994770, www.vicenzae.org (also in German)
