Route 21: A ride around Potenza, Basilicata

Unlock the potential of a motorcycle tour in the far south of Italy: great roads, no traffic, constant sun

Sometimes the road is bumpy. Sometimes it’s just sublime

Checking the plan for the Potenza route, Weeble shakes his head in dismay. “But I’ve ridden straight past here on the motorway!” he complains. “Why didn’t I know there were roads like this I couldn’t have taken instead?” That’s the trouble: by the time you’ve heard - or read - about the brilliant riding in the Alps, the Dolomites, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany… well, you get the picture.

Every area north of Basilicata boasts about its brilliant roads, so it’s easy for the further-flung locations to get overshadowed. However, there’s equally great riding to be had in the instep of the great boot of Italy. Potenza is a pretty big city, the provincial capital but it’s the perfect base for breaking out to explore the most mountainous region of Southern Italy. We have three routes with everything from soaring high-altitude hairpins to sunny coastal cruises. And now you know these roads are here there’s no excuse for riding past them.

MAPS AND DOWNLOADS FOR A RIDE AROUND POTENZA, BASILICATA

Map of a motorcycle route from Potenza, Basilicata, Italy

Route 1 (our route): start/finish: Potenza. Distance: 180 miles. Riding time: 6 hours. Suggested stops: AM coffee: Venosa, lunch: Candela, PM coffee: Pescopagnano
Route one map, Route one GPX file

Route 2: Distance: 240 miles. Riding time: 9 hours. A full day on twisty roads, looping out to the coast
Route two map, Route two GPX file

Route 3: Distance: 220 miles. Riding time: 7 hours. Flowing mountain roads. Easily adapted to provide a half-day ride
Route three map, Route three GPX file

Please note: This page contains the route files for The RiDE Guide to motorcycle touring in Italy which came free with RiDE magazine in July 2015. These website page are not regularly updated, so please check all critical information before you travel. All route files are in .gpx format. Garmin and BMW users can download the main file, which contains all the routes and our recommended hotels as separate waypoints. TomTom users can download the individual routes and use the Tyre software to convert them. For many routes we also have Google Map links. However, as Google Maps will not plot routes over seasonally closed high Alpine passes (such as Stelvio) when they’re shut, these may not work for every route all year round.