About
The story behind the project
Marco Zanetti
The first trip in the summer of 2021
In the summer five years ago we were slowly emerging from yet another lockdown and had just become European champions. For me, though, summer 2021 is also the summer when I decided to set off by bicycle to discover Italy. I had no experience of long journeys, but in the end, with my dad's city bike and a small tent from Decathlon, I started pedalling.
It was 25 days of real freedom — the kind that makes you wake up happy even when it is scorching outside, even when you sleep terribly in the tent. Because waking up by the sea puts you in a good mood, even when you know today will be tough — but cycling through the roads of the most beautiful country in the world is not that hard.
You wake up alive because you know that today you will see a new place. And then people are so curious to know where you are going with the bags on the rack: everyone would like to feel part of the journey and they give you directions, a bottle of water or a coffee, from north to south.
Today's route
The route is inspired by the official BI6 track of Bicitalia (FIAB), which designed the national cycling network. Compared to the original track, I have developed over time a series of safer alternatives that avoid the Adriatic highway and high-traffic sections, favouring dedicated cycle paths, gravel roads and secondary roads parallel to the coast. The main changes are between Trieste and Monfalcone (in Friuli) and between Otranto and Santa Maria di Leuca (in Salento).
After five years of work, the result is a route designed to be accessible even without specific cycle-touring experience — just as I was in 2021 — though some sections remain more demanding and call for extra attention. Every itinerary has its own downloadable GPX file, an illustrated map with key data and an interactive elevation profile. The interactive map shows the entire route with estimated safety levels for each section.
Contact
My name is Marco Zanetti. If you have questions, suggestions or want to report updates on a specific section, you can write to me at info@cicloviaadriatica.eu. The project is constantly evolving: every report is valuable.
