B&B IL POGGIO - SESTO CALENDE

B&B IL POGGIO - SESTO CALENDE

40km - 3,5 hours - medium difficulty

A long route following the Ticino river up to its source in Sesto Calende, where it runs out of the tip of Lake Maggiore. 

We begin by crossing the plain, a landscape of rural settlements, horse farms, ranches and fields. We take the road to Somma Lombardo, where soon we will marvel at the imposing structure of the Visconti Castle, next to Villa Dolci and the Basilica of St. Agnese.
We pedal down towards Coarezza, crossing an estate complete with a Neo-Gothic building, then pedal through the village streets until we reach the towpath of the Ticino, which here runs between tall hillsides.
We arrive at the Miorina dam, where new locks open and close to let boats through, and then take the road to Sesto Calende and through the narrow streets of its town center until we see the two-storey iron bridge, with one level for cars and one for the train. This is precisely where Lake Maggiore turns into the Ticino.
We make our way back from the riverside to Sesto, this time up to the dam bridge of Porto della Torre and the water-captation station of Panperduto at the Industrial and Villoresi Canals.
We return from the hamlet of Maddalena and cross the plains of Casorate once more.

The route includes bumpy, unpaved sections at the beginning and at the end, while the river towpaths are good, easy stretches. The last part of the way is uphill, on paved roads, from the Ticino valley to the plain.