Epic Cycling Rides: Friuli and Slovenia with Sergio Porcellotti

Where would our guides take you, if they could take you anywhere in the world?

The Coronavirus pandemic has grounded our guides at home for almost a year. Yet their passion and desire to taste, travel, and teach is unstoppable. Our guides – with an average 15 years of off-the-map travel experience – have compiled a book entitled Pedaled Passion: Ciclismo Guides Favorite Rides where they share with you their favorite world destinations.

This blog series highlights excerpts from the text where you can read your favorite guide recount their favorite ride. So join us on this most memorable journey. And if you feel compelled, we ask that you donate to our fundraiser, to get us through the winter, so we can make our next ride with you our favorite.

Thank you for your support.

Croatia & The Istrian Peninsula

Mileage: 451 km (280 mi) Elevation: 5422 m (17,789 ft)

This fabulous ride starts in the northeast corner of Italy, along the border of Slovenia and Croatia. At the apex of the Adriatic Sea, where the Croatian coast and its 1244 islands face Italy for the entire length of the boot, is where East and West mix. The route is varied, with some challenging sections, classifying it as an intermediate level itinerary. We begin from the beautiful city of Trieste in Italy and its Austro-Hungarian influences of the last century.

The Miramare Castle as well as Germanic and Slavic influences blend in the historic city center, alongside the remains of a Roman amphitheater dating back to 200 BC and an important Jewish ghetto. You travel along the first part of the Croatian coast, facing Italy on the east side of the Adriatic Sea, pedaling through medieval landscapes full of castles, and ancient vines with modern structures in constant evolution.

The Border

After crossing the ITALY-SLOVENIA border by bicycle you’ll come to the SLOVENIA-CROATIA
border. Testifying to the Italian influence during the Venetian dominance of this land is the language: Italian is still spoken by many local Croats today. Along the coast you can ride through rapidly evolving towns and small fishing villages where time froze still some one hundred years ago. In a few kilometers you can go from the coast to the hills then return down to the sea with breathtaking views. Numerous Croatian cities are included in the list of UNESCO heritage sites, such as Poreč with its Byzantine Basilica dating back to around 800 AD.

We continue to descend towards Rovinj by crossing the Limsky Kanal by boat, commonly known as the “fjord” due to the geologic configuration, giving safe shelter to many warships during the Second World War. During our last day, we head to Pula with its Arena, the sixth largest Roman amphitheater in the world and its neighboring Island of Brijuni.

The beauty of this route lies in the mixture of cultures that today can be appreciated in art and architecture. Of course, we can’t forget the importance of food and the evolution of the Croatian wine and – specifically – the Istrian wine market. Last but not least, it is the warmth of the people who are always ready to welcome passing tourists in a very welcoming way that give life to this vibrant peninsula.

Airports & Arriving

It is very easy to get to the “Ronchi de Legionari” international airport a few kilometers from Trieste or by train to the Central Station not far from the Trieste city center. Arriving or departing there are excellent connections for a visit to nearby Venice as well as Pula, the final city of our tour, which is suitable for an extension of the holiday to the south and memorable city of Dubrovnik.

But not only do cultures blend, but so do the colors, forming wonderful hues and shades between June and September. Istria is an intensely green region, with vast wooded areas, thousands of small, cultivated plots and hundreds of slopes planted with vines or dotted with olive trees. Today’s Istria – in many ways – is so similar to the Italy of yesterday.

In fact, the peninsula – which includes Slovenia and Croatia – maintains that flavor and dimension of life on a human scale in harmony with the environment, especially in the towns and suggestive small villages. Another identifying color of this region is the intense sea-blue. This color is reflected in the flags that wave to symbolize the ecological prestige and respect for nature covering the 537 kilometers of rocky cliffs and silent bays scented with sage and myrtle. The white of Istria comes from the stone that takes its name, characterizing the buildings and houses. You’ll find this same stone along the lanes and streets inside towns, reinforcing that Italian influence. The bridges, churches, large villas, and pavements of Venice were also built with this compact and robust material, which was used to replace marble until the end of the 18th century.

Polished Stone

You’ll also find white in the cobbled streets, polished by a continuous coming and going of tourists who wonder past the fruit and fish markets. Colored clothes hang from clotheslines across the alleys, from one side to the other between tall houses and narrow passages. These impossible corridors lead to ever-changing views, one over the sea, another takes you to a tiny square that looks like a private sitting room. As a result, the same unmistakable international Gothic style – together with the Venetian lion – is found in buildings throughout Istria grafted on Byzantine matrices. This is a testament to the close bond between Croatia and Italy, which intensified during the Italian domination after the First World War.

Unfortunately, this alliance ended with the painful and bloody Istrian exodus. This conflict marked the return of the Croatian people to their homeland in the peninsula, which then passed into the hands of Tito (1944). Despite the ups and downs, the language of the Italian minority here is still taught in schools, alongside the two national languages of Croatian and Slovenian, Italian is spoken almost everywhere, thanks to tourism and TV.

Practical Information:

START: Trieste – (ITA)
END: Pula (HR)
DISTANCE: 451 km (280 mi) – 7 days riding
(8th day departure)
TERRAIN: Hilly on the Carso plateau than
rolling with some climbs and a few scenic
view along the coast with an Island hopping
DIFFICULTY: Intermediate
BEST TIME TO GO: June and September
BIKE SHOPS: SP Bike Trieste, Davor Bike
(Umag), Lera Sport Shop and Service
(Rovinj), Enduro Bikes & stuff (Pola)
ELEVATION GAIN: 5422 m (17789 ft)
PLACES TO STAY: Trieste (ITA) – Umag, Rovinj,
Pula (HR)
PLACES TO EAT: Antica Ghiacceretta (Trieste),
Konoba da Lorenzo (Umag), La Puntulina
(Rovinj), Aldo (Pula)
CC TOUR: Croatia’s Istrian Peninsula
HOW TO GET THERE: Fly into the “Ronchi de
Legionari” airport in Trieste or get to the
start by train arriving at “Stazione Centrale”
in Trieste. Departure by CC shuttle from
Pula to Trieste.
There is the possibility of extending the
vacation by going south passing from Zadar
and Split, to end up in Ragusa (Dubrovnik).