Italian Renaissance: Grand Tour de’ Medici
This route lies just a bit east from Florence, the heart of the Medici family; long time rulers of Florence, Grand Dukes of Tuscany, financiers of the renaissance and bankers of the European powers. The Medici ruled over the region more or less from the 1400’s until exactly 1737, during that period they accumulated an immense amount of riches, art and property all around Tuscany, most of which are close to Florence.
Riding around Florence also means that we will ride some parts of the 2013 UCI road world championships that saw Rui Costa and Marianne Vos win the rainbow jerseys. Thanks to some amazing cultural-historical sightseeing and the inevitable but beautiful climbs the ride’s average speed won’t be all that high. The ride will go from the one countryside Medici villa to the other, even though we’ll see far from all of them the villas are officially noted as UNESCO world heritage. In addition to the Medici villa this route will guide you along stunning hills and valleys, vineyards, olive trees, forests and typical Tuscan towns. It will cross the San Baronto climb, often used by pro’s as a training climb. Up top the local cycling bar will host your lunch. The following descent will pass through Vinci. Yes you guessed it right; Leonardo’s Vinci!
In this ride there’s a wall known as the Noci Wall. It’s a bit under a kilometer long on an average of 12% climbing and topping at 28%! Just let Carlo know if you’re up for it or want to take the detour.
You will pass by a total of 6 historical sites where Carlo will tell you about the cultural history:
General information about the villas: https://villegiardinimedicei.it/?lang=en
