Rocca di Pietracassia, Orciatico e Lajatico

Beautiful ring on the Pisan Hills, immersed in the classic Tuscan hilly landscape, now famous throughout the world. Starting from La Sterza, a hamlet of the municipality of Lajatico, we ride a few meters of asphalt and then abandon it in favor of a dirt road that takes us to the first "knoll" of the day. As soon as we come out of the grove, the view opens onto the endless succession of hills (or "poggi" in fact) cultivated and dominated from above, from time to time, by characteristic villages, such as Lajatico that we can see on our left and that we will cross at the end of the tour shortly after passing by the Teatro del Silenzio. The only detour, clearly visible when observing the track, is the one made to reach the Rocca di Pietracassia, an ancient fortification dating back to the early Middle Ages located on a limestone cliff along the ancient communication route between Valdera and Val di Cecina.

Back on the main loop, the tour continues in this way, in a continuous up and down, always on dirt roads or very smooth paths. The small and picturesque fortified village of Orciatico is reached, past which the remains of two windmills can be seen. Nothing to report about rideability: there is only one very bumpy downhill section, between the 23rd and 24th kilometers. No problem if tackled by MTB, while it can be tricky to do it with a Gravel bike, since these are favorite areas for those who ride on this type of bike. At the end of the ride we go up the hill of Lajatico, first skirting its Teatro del Silenzio. There is a small cloister, upstream from the theater, where you can stop for a beer or a snack with not bad views of Valdera.