Seventh stage of the Ciclabile dei Parchi in Calabria

Description

From Villaggio Mancuso the route resumes with a pleasant descent that runs through the larch pines and after a short uphill stretch starts again in a ‘nosedive’ to the outskirts of Albi. Here the landscape opens up to a wide panorama towards the cultivated hills, marked by a thick blanket of olive trees, with the Ionian Sea on the horizon. After a few downhill switchbacks, the Ciclovia begins to climb again until it reaches the centre of Taverna (521 m), a town steeped in history that was the birthplace of Mattia Preti, one of the greatest painters of the 17th century, and whose churches and Museo Civico display his valuable works. From here the Ciclovia begins to climb again in the direction of Sorbo S.. Basile (620 m), a delightful hamlet, and then climbs up to Maranise and then touches the village of Fossato Serralta (720 m), proceeding uphill to the stage pass at an altitude of 890 m, near the Casa Cantoniera Cafarda, with a splendid panorama over the valleys. From this point the difference in altitude slopes down to Gimigliano (525 m), on slight ups and downs. Once past the viaduct over the Corace River, the cycle route begins to climb again in the direction of Tiriolo, the town of the two seas from which, on a clear day, even the Aeolian Islands can be admired, with a fine old town centre, museums and unmissable craft workshops.