THE ROAD TO ITALY
Written by MOTORBIKE EUROPE Road Writers - Monday, 21 March 2011 10:50
Italy has influenced the cultural and social development in the entire Mediterranean area, and profoundly affected European culture. Also, when it comes to excellent motorcycles. Italy is a real motorcycle country, and the experiences that await you are staggering. You feel you want to conquer Italy. Maybe like the Greeks, who colonised southern Italy in the 8th and 7th centuries B.C. At about the same time, the Etruscans came into prominence on the northern part of the Italian peninsula. From the 7th century B.C. until the 5th century A.D., Roman kings ruled here, followed by the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Squabbling city-states marred the time between the 6th century A.D. and the unification of 1861. It was also the time when the merchant empires of Venice and Florence reached their zenith, and the Renaissance began here.
GREAT COUNTRY FOR BIKERFOOD AND CULTURE
Like France, Italy is renowned for its cuisine. A real biker kitchen. In Umbria and Piedmont you’ll find truffles, while Water buffalo mozzarella is made in the south. Risotto is a dish from the north. Italy is world famous for its ice cream, Tiramisu and crème caramel. Italian cheeses are world-class: Parmesan, Mozzarella, Pecorino, and Gorgonzola. Then, there’s the Amarone and Barolo wines from the north, Brunello, Chianti and the sweet desert wine Vin Santo from Tuscany, and the light white Frascati from Lazio. What more could you possibly need for a fantastic picnic on the side of the road. On top of the culture, and all of the great towns in Italy, there are the mountains, where incredible adventures await:
Appennino Abruzzese is the highest part of the Apennines in Italy. Corno Grande is the tallest peak standing at 2,914 metres above sea level.
Adamello-Presanella is a mountain range reaching more than 3,500 metres, in the Southern Alps. Between Adamello-Presanella and Ortleralpane in the north, lies the Tonale pass. The mountains cover an area of about 30 square kilometres.
WHICH ALPS ARE WHICH?
The Central Alps stretch from Chur and Lake Como in the west to Vienna and Maribor in the east, and run through Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Slovenia. The range is 800km long, and about 60km wide. The central Alps are situated between the eastern Alps’ two major ranges: The Northern Limestone Alps and the Southern Limestone Alps.
DOLOMITES
Dolomites are a range of mountains in the Southern Limestone Alps; they are part of the Italian regions Trentino-South Tyrol and Veneto. The name Dolomites comes from the French geologist, Deodat de Dolomieu. The highest peak in the Dolomites is Marmolada, 3,342 metres above sea level. In prehistoric times, there where many glaciers in the Dolomites, but now just one remains: the Marmolada-glacier.
The Julian Alps, named after Julius Caesar, are a part of the Southern Limestone Alps on the border of Slovenia. The highest point is Triglav (2,864m), which is also the highest mountain in Slovenia itself. A large part of the Julian Alps are part of Triglav National Park.
