La Via Francigena in bicicletta - Tratto 1 dal Gran San Bernardo a Fidenza

The first Italian stretch of the ancient Via Francigena is a riot of rivers and bodies of water, medieval churches and castles. It starts from the Gran San Bernardo Pass, passes along the Dora Baltea river in Val D'Aosta, crosses the rice fields of the Vercellese and Pavia areas, follows the Po river and runs through the Piacenza countryside until reaching Fidenza. It is approximately 414 km long. In Val d'Aosta you can admire the characteristic vineyards, and the castles of Issogne, Fenis and the fortress of Bard. Further on you pass by the Eporediese lakes, Lake Viverone and the Serra moraine of Ivrea. And again, you cross the landscape of the rice fields of the Vercelli area, the Lomellina countryside, dotted with cultivated fields, farmhouses and woods, the Ticino Park, the alluvial plain of the Lower Pavese, the Piacenza countryside, the Val D'Arda. Along the way you can visit small parish churches such as the Romanesque church of Robbio or the church of Santa Maria del Campo, and large religious buildings such as the Cistercian Abbey of Chiaravalle della Colomba and the cathedral of San Donnino in Fidenza, where the first part of our trip to Rome. Aosta, Saint Vincent, Issogne, Ivrea, Roppolo, Santhià, Vercelli, Mortara, Pavia, Belgioioso, Piacenza, Fiorenzuola d'Arda, Fidenza.