THE CYCLE ROUTE OF NORTHERN ITALY'S MAIN CITIES

STAGE 5

(Venice - Treviso, 47 km)

The itinerary falls under the wider AIDA project, but has specific features, mostly due to the environmental aspects of the area it crosses: the forest of Mestre and the river Sile regional park. The route is completely flat and comprises a significant portion of good quality cycling infrastructure. This is the classic daily outing that poses no difficulties in either direction, also thanks to the fact that the railway stations of Venezia Santa Lucia, Venezia Mestre and Treviso are all connected directly. The presence of outstanding historical and architectural sites along the route, and the arrival into the charming old town of Treviso makes this an interesting itinerary even for the most discerning travellers.

The description of the itinerary starts at the Mestre railway station. For the cycling connection between the historical centre of Venice proper – i.e. piazzale Roma – and the Mestre railway station please refer to the previous stage. As you come out of the station, take the street opposite, via Piave, and after just 50 metres turn right into via Ortigara, continue on via Pasubio then turn right again into via Montello until you turn left into the cycle path on via Dante, which was the first ever cycle path built in town. Leave the cycle path, turn right into via Fusinato then, always on a cycle path, turn left along via Cappuccina. At the traffic lights, with separate bike signal, continue straight on via della Brenta Vecchia past the new M9, the Museum of the Twentieth Century. At the next, wide junction, take a right, then cross via Poerio immediately to the left into via Fapanni (walk your bike through on market days, Wednesday and Friday), go through Parco Ponci (the name is misleading, as it is not a park but a parking lot) and continue on via Caneve, then turn left into via Spalti, a toponym that bears witness to the ancient castle of Mestre, as it means bastion. Once in via Garibaldi turn right into the fine cycle path on the street lined with linden trees and continue until the piazza of Carpenedo, with the large church of the Saints Gervasius and Protasius as a backdrop on the right. After leaving the cycle path, continue onto via Ligabue almost opposite (access to residents' cars only). Keep going north onto via Sem Benelli, then turn left into via Vallon. Go under the Trieste railway line through a well-designed underpass and, always on the cycle path, also go under regional road SR14. At the end of the surfaced cycle path, take a sharp right onto an unsurfaced cycle path, leaving on your left the alley that leads to the atmospheric Forte Vallon, one of the forts of the Entrenched Field of Mestre, the system of fortifications built between the 19th and early 20th century, which can be visited on opening days. The unsurfaced cycle path leads again onto via Vallon, after a right turn, and shortly after, you take a right again onto via Favorita, just before the disused railway line called “dei Bivi”. Follow the tracks and at the end of the street turn left, until you come to a roundabout with a wide cycle path that leaves the active railway line behind. When you come to the road, you take a U-turn left and head towards the Bosco di Mestre nature area. After that, you turn left onto a fine surfaced cycle path that runs along the SP40 provincial road and, after a couple of kilometres, you come to the churchyard of Dese's parish church (the place is named after the river that flows nearby). Where the cycle path ends, you cross the provincial road and take via Litomarino (km 10.6), which you ride along for about 4 km, then you turn left into via Ponte Alto (km 14.6) and cross the river Dese shortly after, by now pretty close to its mouth. We are in the hamlet of Zuccarello, in the municipality of Marcon, where the Counts Collalto once had a huge farm. Follow the road on the left until you quickly come to the hamlet of San Liberale where, at the junction with provincial road SP40 (km 17.3), you take a right and follow the road for about 1.5 km, partly also making use of a fine cycle path on the left side. At km 18.5 you turn left towards “Le Crete” and continue on a back road until you meet the provincial road again, and follow it on a rather poor cycle path on the left side. At km 21.7, you leave the road and the cycle path to turn left onto a cycle and pedestrian underpass and enter the town of Quarto d’Altino, then continue right until the crossroads with via Roma, leaving the church of San Michele Arcangelo with its characteristic tower on your left. Go through the crossroads and you will come to the bank of the river Sile, which you will cycle along until Treviso. However, you will do so on its left bank, after crossing the river on a cycle and pedestrian bridge (km 22.5). You are now in the province of Treviso, hamlet of Musestre, municipality of Roncade. You cross the tiny hamlet and, just after the Sant’Ulderico parish church, you turn left over the river Musestre on a fine walkway, and come to the bank of the river Sile, where a charming unpaved cycle path begins (km 23.3). The cycle path follows closely the meandering course of the river, whose tranquil spring water conveys a sense of serenity and lightness. At km 29.0 you will glimpse the town of Casale sul Sile on the opposite bank, with the 14th century Tower of the Carraresi looking down upon the old town. A little further on, you cross the Sile again over a cantilever bike path jutting out from the road bridge and continue over back roads, first via Belvedere, then via Vicinale Rivalta, before reaching the river bank again, this time on the right  (km 31.9). The cycle path, always in fine compact gravel, continues along the river towpath without interruptions, except a short bypass around Villa Gabbianelli, in Lughignano. In the same hamlet, also noteworthy is the church of San Martino, clearly of Lombard origin, with a beautiful 16th century wooden crucifix. At km 37.8 you get a glimpse of the hamlet of Cendon di Silea on the opposite bank, accessible in the summer via a river ferry. The village of Casier (km 40.3), with its terrace-like piazza reflected by the river, which here broadens into a wide, almost lake-like bend, is very picturesque. After going through the village, you enter the so-called "Barge Graveyard", which you must strictly walk through on the renovated wooden walkways. The large barges left to rot here, called Burci, were used to carry freight up and down the river. At the end of the last walkway you get back on the saddle and take a right on the surfaced via Tappi, cross the Sile again on a narrow concrete bridge (km 42.8) which you will find on the right, and ride on the left bank for the last part of the route. Indeed, the centre of Treviso is just a few kilometres away and the itinerary is partly segregated and partly mixed, with gravel or tarmac surface. We are now on the Restera towpath, along which the large barges were once towed by horses and oxen. At km 46.0 you reach the Pontebbana state road, which here acts as ring road encircling the town. Turn left onto a convenient cycle path, and you will quickly get to the railway station (km 47.4) and even more easily to Piazza dei Signori, the city's throbbing heart, dominated by the Tower, the Palazzo del Podestà and the Palazzo dei Trecento.