CROWNE PLAZA - SESTO CALENDE

CROWNE PLAZA – SESTO CALENDE

41km - 3 hours - medium difficulty

A pleasant route up the river Ticino towpaths to Lake Maggiore and the lovely village of Sesto Calende

We begin by crossing the plain, is 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. Next, it’s downhill towards Coarezza, crossing an estate with a Neo-Gothic building; then we pedal through the village streets until we reach the road flanking the river Ticino, which here runs between high, steep hills.

We then find ourselves at the Miorina dam, with its new navigational locks, and continue on towards Sesto Calende, 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 in Sesto, until we come upon the dam bridge of Porto della Torre and the water captation works of Panperduto at the Industrial and Villoresi Canals.
We continue on the canal towpath until we reach the road connecting Castelnovate to Case Nuove, an uphill stretch leading us to our destination.

The first part of the route includes some bumpy, unpaved sections, 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.