An epic motorcycle odyssey through the heart of Abruzzo

Route details

Experience a spectacular journey from the historic walls of L'Aquila to the majestic plateaus of the Gran Sasso and the wild flanks of the Majella. This Tourer combines technical riding fun on lonely pass roads with a landscape that is unparalleled in Europe.

Abruzzo is the best-kept secret for motorcyclists looking for the original Italy. This Tourer starts in the historic town of L'Aquila and takes you straight into a world where the asphalt asks you to dance. As soon as you leave the city limits behind you, a panorama of rugged limestone peaks and deep green valleys opens up.

An absolute highlight of the route is the ascent to Cima Mammarosa in the Majella massif. Here you climb to dizzying heights, while the view sweeps far over the Adriatic Sea to the east and the wild mountain ridges to the west. The air becomes cooler, the grip on the rough asphalt better, and the silence of the mountains is only interrupted by the sonorous sound of your Engine. It is a landscape of extremes: barren rock formations alternate with dense beech forests that glow in golden colors in autumn.

From there, the route takes you down Via Mario Pomilio into gentler terrain before the absolute highlight of every Abruzzo Tourer awaits: Campo Imperatore. Often referred to as the "Piccolo Tibet", this huge plateau offers a vastness that is otherwise only known from Central Asia or the Rocky Mountains. The road stretches like a gray ribbon through the endless, treeless steppe, flanked by the Corno Grande, the highest peak in the Apennines. Up here, you feel the freedom in the saddle particularly intensely. There are no crash barriers to spoil the view, just the endless expanse and the occasional herd of semi-wild horses or sheep at the side of the road.

The return journey along the Strada Statale 17 bis offers yet another perfect combination of bends before you reach L'Aquila again. The Tourer ends at the Monumento ai Caduti del Terremoto, a place of pause that reminds you how powerful and unpredictable this beautiful mountain world can be. It's a route that not only challenges your Tyres, but above all fills your senses with impressions that will resonate long after you've turned off the Engine.