Elymian routes bike tour
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itinerary in detail

 

DAY 1 Arrival at Palermo Airport
From Palermo Falcone–Borsellino Airport to Scopello (Transfer)
We’ll carry you from the Falcone-Borsellino International Airport of Palermo to the ancient village of
Scopello, a tiny hamlet developed around an ancient ‘baglio’ dating back to the 17th-century. The
so-named ‘bagli’ were built with defensive purposes in western Sicily since the Roman times and,
afterwards, used rurally as housing to the farmers, storage and cattle stalls since the 15th century.
In Scopello you’ll be shown the tour and given some informative document and your hired bikes as
well. It is one of the most picturesque places in the province of Trapani and is known for the tuna
fishing yards, which were one of the most productive in Sicily during the 1500s.
You may spend this first day hiking at a relaxed pace inside the Zingaro Nature Reserve. It is one of the unspoiled and most charming areas in Sicily and can be
explored only on foot. The reserve is a place of great value also for the presence of the dwarf palm
and other endemic species, both animal and vegetal. You can indulge in a swim at any of the little
bays along the coastal path or climb up the mountains and enjoy a wonderful view on the wide Gulf
of Castellammare. Visiting the Museum at Contrada Sughero will make you aware of the local
usages and customs at the beginning of the 20th century.
Overnight stay: in Scopello.

DAY 2 From Scopello to Erice
The Archaeological site of Segesta is one of the most important and representative in Sicily. The
site is renowned for its temple, one of the most iconic views of Sicily, and for the amphitheatre
facing the Gulf of Castellammare from the distance, like a shell placed on the hilltop. Segesta,
together with Erice and Entella, was a powerful city of the Elymians, a population coming from
North-western Turkey, and was involved in several conflicts with Selinunte. The town enjoyed
periods of glory during the first Punic War, under the rule of the Greeks and the Romans; it was
later destroyed by the Vandals, occupied by the Saracens and ceased to exist in the early Middle
Ages.
After visiting Segesta, you’ll cycle on to Erice. The town of Erice is located on the top of the
homonymous mountain towering above the city of Trapani. Nowadays Erice retains a very pleasant
medieval atmosphere, while in ancient times it was an important religious centre to the Elymians.
Here they built a temple to the goddess of fertility, where the Phoenicians worshipped Astarte, the
Greeks Aphrodite, and the Romans Venus.
Overnight stay: At Erice.
Level of difficulty: On average, moderate. Demanding when climbing Mount Erice.

DAY 3 From Erice to Marsala
You’ll be pedalling with ease. The scenic descent from Erice and the following route in the interior
will lead you to the Salt Marshes Nature Reserve and to Mothya (Mozia, in Italian), a small
fascinating islet and once a Punic settlement. The road from the foot of Mount Erice to the seafront
runs through an almost completely flat, open countryside. Once arrived by the sea, you’ll enjoy a
magnificent view of the salt marshes and the wind mills.
From the embarcadero for Mozia it will be possible to actually visit the Marsala Salt-Marshes
Reserve, learn about the process of salt extraction and get close to a wind mill. Then, it’ll be
possible to reach on a small boat the suggestive island of Mozia, nowadays owned and operated by
a foundation established by the Whitakers, a winemakers’ family of English-descent. It is possible to visit the local Archaeological Museum and the relics of the settlement, with a harbour and cemetery.
After Mozia the last few kilometres on a flat terrain will lead you to the town of Marsala to visit a wine-making firm with a tasting experience included in the tour.
The origins of Marsala, the second largest town in the province of Trapani, date back to 397 BC
when the Greeks of Syracuse defeated Mozia. The fleeing Phoenicians found then shelter in this
level coastal district. They founded a city called Lylibeum, gaining a strategic role in the area of the
Mediterranean Sea. In the Roman period Lylibeum become the capital of Western Sicily, hosting the
famous orator Cicero as quaestor in 75 BC. It was just from here that the occupation of Sicily by
the Arabs started in 830 thus setting a period of thriving trade with Africa. Under the Arabs,
Lylibeum was renamed and called Marsa Allah (Harbour of God), whence the present name.
During the Spanish domain the architecture of Marsala acquired a touch of Renaissance and later of
Baroque style. The landing of Garibaldi and his Thousands in 1860 gave Marsala pride of place in
the history of the unification of Italy.
Overnight stay: At Marsala.
Level of difficulty: Easy.

DAY 4 From Marsala to Selinunte
This hilly leg will let you cut across the interior of the island heading for two archaeological sites:
the quarries of Cave di Cusa first, and then Selinunte, the ancient Selinus. Leaving the flat
vineyards around Marsala behind, you’ll bend into the inland across a series of gently-undulating
hills, and then down seawards again, passing by Cave di Cusa, a fascinating quarry used in the
Greek period to carve out building materials out of the rock, including the columns of the temples in
Selinunte.
The city was founded in the seventh century BC, and destroyed in 409 BC. Selinunte's glorious
heyday lasted for about two centuries, when it was one of the most progressive Greek cities in
Sicily, famous throughout the Magna Graecia. The archaeological park encompassing Selinunte and
its monuments extends for about 1,300 meters from east to west, and is open from 9 am to an
hour before sunset on all days, barring the major holidays. Furthermore, quite near to Selinunte,
you’ll reach another nature reserve around the mouth of the Belice River and the nearby dunes: the
Nature Oriented Reserve of the “Fiume Belice e Dune Limitrofe”.
Overnight stay: At Selinunte.
Level of difficulty: On average, moderate.

DAY 5 From Selinunte to Contessa Entellina
That day you’ll be pedalling as far as the Ruins of Poggioreale. The route towards the town of Poggioreale crosses another part of Sicily naturally devoid of the sea as a landmark. The landscape is characterized by hills with several dilapidated buildings, once used for arable purposes and now mostly abandoned. Poggioreale is one of the towns fatally struck by the 1968 earthquake of the Belice Valley.
A short ride from the ruins of Poggioreale, it is also possible to admire the artworks of Alberto Burri,
the artist who memorialised the earthquake destruction by covering the nearby ruins of Gibellina
with a white thick concrete blanket, yet maintaining the pre-existing street pattern.
Hence, after visiting those ghost-towns, you’ll keep on riding towards Contessa Entellina
Overnight stay: At Contessa Entellina.
Level of difficulty: On average, moderate; demanding for the last 1.5 km to the accommodation.

DAY 6 From Contessa Entellina to Piana degli Albanesi
Another cycling day in the interior countryside of west Sicily! We’ll pass just close to Corleone, an
old town famous around the world because of a role in the recent history of mafia and the famous
cinematic trilogy The Godfather – don’t get worried though, we only aim at avoiding car traffic!
After some steep slopes we’ll reach a comfortable 4-star farm near Piana degli Albanesi.
Piana degli Albanesi was founded in the 15th century by Albanians fleeing from the prosecution of
the Ottoman Turks, and maintains its ethnic-linguistic and religious identity until today. Piana degli
Albanesi is famous because their jeweller’s craft and for its amazing ‘cannoli’ sweets.
Overnight stay: 4-star farmhouse.
Level of difficulty: On average, moderate; demanding for a 3-km slope in the second part of the leg.

DAY 7 From Piana degli Albanesi to Monreale
You’ll reach Monreale along the track of a dismissed railway, riding through the Conca d’Oro (the
‘Golden Valley’ at the gates of Palermo, so-named from the boundless orange and lemon groves of
the Arabic period), finally arriving at Monreale.
Monreale is world-renowned for its Cathedral called Santa Maria la Nuova, a dazzling mixture of
Arab, Byzantine and Norman artistic styles framed by traditional Romanesque architecture, all
combined in a perfect blend of the best that both the Christian and Muslim worlds of the 12th
century could offer. The beautiful mosaics in the Cathedral of Monreale are said to be one of the
world's largest realisations, covering 6,340 square meters of the interior surface. The splendid
cloister of the next-door Benedictine Abbey alone would make Monreale famous enough with its 228
columns enclosing the cloister, some having mosaic inlays, some with meticulously-carved stone
capitals. The capitals themselves depict scenes of Norman history in Sicily, with knights and kings
evoking those depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, the contemporary chronicle of the battle of Hastings
in England.
Overnight stay: At Monreale.
Level of difficulty: On average, demanding.

DAY 8 Departure and end of our services