The tourist cycle routes around Ferrara are part of a network of pan-European cycle connections.

From Castello Estense to the famous mill on the banks of the River Po with a handy bike map which rests on the bicycle’s handlebars

From Castello Estense, in the historic centre of Ferrara, you enter the beautiful Corso Ercole I d’Este with its palaces and gardens and you are completely immersed in the Renaissance atmosphere.

After Palazzo dei Diamanti  and Piazza Ariostea, you cross the green area of the vegetable gardens, between the Jewish Cemetery and the Certosa, then you climb onto the tree-lined embankment of the walls and continue along it until you reach the Porta degli Angeli. The fitter amongst you can continue the bike-ride along the entire route of the town-walls which extends for 9 km.

After crossing the Parco Urbano , thanks to the FE203 cycle-path you arrive at Francolino where you climb onto the riverbank and so reach the Destra Po (FE20): the cycle-path which runs alongside the Po for 120 km from Stellata di Bondeno until it reaches the sea at Gorino.

The destination of this route is the tourist area of Ro, with its floating mill where the grain is still ground as it was one hundred years ago.

Journey time and technical characteristics of route –

Short and easy route suitable for everyone, flat terrain except for the climb up to the bank of the River Po. Mainly on exclusive, completely asphalted, cycle-pedestrian tracks (FE203, FE20), with a short and simple stretch of dirt-track (approximately 1,5 km) on the walls of Ferrara.

The “Il Giardino di Rebecca” B&B is equipped to accommodate cycle tourism or bicycle-lovers with an indoor bicycle shelter service, substantial breakfast, etc…

The “Destra Po” itinerary constitutes the central stretch of EuroVelo route no. 8 from Athens to Cadiz and is also part of the “Lake Garda-Adriatic coast” itinerary, which connects the “Ciclopista del Sole” route with the Lidi di Comacchio, along the rivers in the provinces of Mantua and Ferrara. Finally, the coastal route in the Po Delta Park is part of the European itinerary that leads from Ravenna to Kranjska Gora, in the heart of another important nature area, the Triglav National Park in Slovenia.

THE NEW CYCLING ROUTE
“The Borgia Ring”
In June 2019 the cycle touring route called “Anello dei Borgia” was officially inaugurated, dedicated to Lucrezia Borgia, the most famous Duchess of Ferrara, 500 years after her death. The conception, design and implementation involved three municipalities, the CAI, the FIAB (Italian Federation of Friends of the Bicycle) and the company Historia snc, which manages the Civic Museum located within the Delizia di Belriguardo.
This new itinerary proposes a route that connects three of the most famous Renaissance Renaissance delights: Belriguardo, Benvignante and that of the Verginese, today all UNESCO heritage in the context of the Este delights.
Belriguardo, as can also be seen from the letter by Bernardino Prosperi (ambassador of the Gonzaga family in Ferrara), was not only the first summer palace of a lordship in Europe but also the most loved by Lucrezia. To today’s visitors, he only partially gives the sumptuous ancient image of himself and his gardens, even if an accurate reconstructive model visible inside one of the halls of the building, can give a precise idea of ​​what it should have looked like at the time of its heyday.
The Verginese, originally an agricultural structure, was given by Alfonso I to Laura Dianti, his lover after the death of the Borgia. Dianti then transformed the peasant house into a sort of small Renaissance palace.
Benvignante, wanted by Borso d’Este, was given by the duke to Teofilo Calcagnini, his secretary and trusted man.
The route also crosses the hamlet of Consandolo, right near the place where the homonymous delight stood, transformed into a sumptuous residence following the architectural and structural interventions desired by Ercole II d’Este (son of Lucrezia Borgia and Alfonso I). Unfortunately, the residence is now lost and obliterated by modern buildings, but the structure is still intuitive from the shape and layout of the contemporary buildings that follow its original lines.
The idea of ​​combining some residences belonging to the house of Este in a single thematic itinerary had already been advanced in the past: however, the originality of this proposal was to connect these buildings to the historical figure of Lucrezia Borgia.
The offer of a product of this type is mainly addressed to that type of tourist that not only prefers the cultural aspect of the journey but who loves contact with nature (the Borgia Ring offers multiple possibilities of connection with other cycling routes). pedestrians in the neighboring areas) and who wants to enjoy the landscape also through what the territory can tell: the history of reclamation with today’s bequests of its canals and the water pumps scattered throughout the plain, testify how deeply human action has modified these places through the ages.
Cycle tourism therefore allows you to get to know the places in a completely different way, where priority is given precisely to the resources of the landscape and its beauty and environmental uniqueness, as well as historical and cultural.

The itinerary, already marked and signposted, is within everyone’s reach, even those who prefer a more moderate pace. In short, it is a journey without technical difficulties that allows anyone to complete the route with ease and return to the starting point in the day (also taking advantage of the train at the stations of Portomaggiore, Montesanto and Consandolo in full agreement thus with the principle more and more recognized and practiced of an eco-sustainable mobility).

Bike rentals
Al biciclar – Via S. Maurelio 14 – 44121 Ferrara – Mob +39 333 9455193
Ceragioli – Piazza Travaglio – 44121 Ferrara – Mob +39 339 4056853
Bicideltapo c/o Hotel Europa – 44121 Ferrara – Tel +39 0532 025456
Pirani e Bagni – Piazzale Stazione – 44100 Ferrara – Tel +39 0532 772190
Ricicletta – Via Darsena 13 – 44100 Ferrara – Mob +39 329 0477971
Todisco bike – Corso Porta Po 102 – 44121 Ferrara – Mob +39 346 1394287
Velocipedi – Via Voltapaletto 11 – 44121 Ferrara – Tel +39 340 2370439

Please, also visit
www.ferrarainbici.it
www.pisteciclabili.com