These Italian e-bike guided tours cross the territories of the Regional Natural Reserve of Tevere Nazzano Farfa, 50 km (30 miles) northeast of Rome center. The Tiber River, in Italian “Tevere“, is the reason why Rome grew to control quickly all of the center of Italy, the Church too build later towers and fortified castles and towns over temples to control it. Go deep into the green nature of the river, that here enlarges because of a dam creating a paradise for migrating birds, and into the stories of ports, mills, medieval settlements, olive oil, and farmers from the very beginning. Our exclusive guided tours here are dedicated to a goddess whose name was so sacred not to be pronounced, a kind of Great Mother Nature: Bona Dea. Click on her name to read more about her.
Perfecting the Italian e-bike guided tours on Bona Dea lands
First day on Bona Dea lands of the Thybris River Experience inspections for our guides that are perfecting these Italian e-bike guided tours. So then the targets were:
–Ecofattorie Sabine: a coffee break for a conference call with Federico Occhionero taking care of the Regina Ciclarum with his cats (the cycling path volunteers ).
–Didactic farm of Campo di Contra and its soul: Mauro Piersanti giving services around and on the Tiber (also with a fleet of canoes).
–Torrita Tiberina: located on the edge of the escarpment that here delimits the Tiber valley, the town was among the possessions of the noble Roman families of Savelli, Orsini, Massimo, and Torlonia. Dominating the historic center is the Savelli castle, with its moat and drawbridge;
–Filacciano: a very small village of just over 500 inhabitants with an unusual urban structure, a small treasure chest in the historic center of which majestic and severe historic buildings stand out (where you will see a conversation with the mayor);
–Ponzano Romano: the beautiful town dominates the ancient port on the Tiber River, overlooks the Soratte Mountain, and charms the voyager with its ancient portals, fortified palaces, and intricate alleys. There, an expected meeting with Michele Longo, scenographer, artist, and movie director, opened the door to his beautiful house and art collection, the gate of the Prac, the contemporary art museum with a special guided visit of Graziano Menolascina, artistic curator of the actual exposition dedicated to David Salle;
–the Fiasco land: a bend in the Tiber River famous for its landscape and shape that resembles a wine flask. An area that it’s beautiful but also fun for our Italian e-bike guided tours.
On the next day, the guides rode from the station of Mirteto Scalo immediately up taking a dirt road that runs under Nazzano Castle and offers a wonderful view of the Tiber River beside some scared herds. The targets were:
-The territories around Nazzano are characterized by cultivated hills and forests. The landscapes are incredibly suggestive that looked like postcards, perfect to characterize our Italian e-bike guided tours
-The Soratte Mountain, millions of years ago an island, today an imposing isolated mountain and natural park with trekking and MTB tours
– Sant’Oreste hamlet on the cliffs of the Soratte Mountain is rich in history, with a Natural Museum, a painting collection, the original fortified walls, doors, and Abbey Palace but there is still a lack of tourist infrastructure, especially during the week.
– The Soratte Bunker -an immense area was excavated inside the Soratte Mountain under Mussolini’s order to host the fascist government in case of danger. Still not finished the bunker was readapted by the German Generalfeldmarschall, Albert Kesselring, that from here guided the Nazist WWII Mediterranean operations. It was finally readapted as a cold war refuge against atomic bombs for the Italian government and then suddenly abandoned probably doing to technological development.
– The Serpone Foundation is a garden that marries contemporary art and nature. The beautiful landscape and the charming pieces of art are the fruit of a careful design following a pattern that it’s also a story. Christin and Ottavio, the owners of the place and the foundation that keeps, promotes, and represents the fairy garden, are great hosts. Part of the contemporary collection is located inside the villa build in the 30ies for a the Fascist Minister of Infrastructures. Among the artists that realized site specific works there are Bruno Munari, Shōzō Shimamoto, Mimmo Paladino, and Hermann Nitsch. They play to throw down the gauntlet to the public.
This video depicts the last day of the Bona Dea territories. Our inspecting guides to shape at its best these Italian e-bike tours had as target:
-to discover how Ecofattorie Sabine was born and how it makes all those good types of cheeses including Cacio Magno (the legends tell that it’s the cheese that Carl the Great loved).
–Nazzano, the small fortified village overlooking the valley of the Tiber River like its neighbors but it’s characterized by a wonderful medieval castle, with a square plan, a central courtyard, and two external and opposite towers, one guarding the town and the other that controlled the river and the commercial ports.
–The River Museum illustrated by Umberto Pessolano, the director but also its beating heart, and the creative and scientific vulcano of the community. Soon there will be here a world scientific meeting on butterflies for example. The town is charming and everybody hopes that the castle will become public to give a special future to the community that it’s losing people.
-The Ecoturismo Tevere Farfa, managed by Aurora Moretti, essential infrastructure of the Reserve and the only lodging activity inside the protected area. Aurora didn’t tell only the charming story of the agribusiness Nautia and the rare seeds that once were planted in the area, but she is a reference point to us for the knowledge of the area and its people that make our e-bike guided tours special.
