The Imagna Valley cycle path, better known as the Chitò cycle path, is a short trail-about 4 km-but a very distinctive one.
The cycle path was built on the old bed of a water canal that fed the Clanezzo hydroelectric power plant. This makes the trail almost entirely flat and has many grates that let you catch a glimpse of the original watercourse under the wheels of your bike.
The cycle path runs halfway up the hillside in the woods between Mount Ubione on the right and the Imagna stream on the left.
During the ride you will be immersed in a pristine landscape, shaded by trees and where you will be able to glimpse springs and rivulets of water.
By the third kilometer you arrive at the Chitò Bridge, an imposing water construction with six stone arches. The bridge is named after the engineer who designed it in 1897.
Beyond the bridge the bicycle path continues for another kilometer parallel to the provincial road SP14 and then ends in Capizzone.
N.B. On the way back to the route, a visit to the port of Clanezzo is recommended: an impressive place with the suspension bridge, theancient Venetian customs house and the thousand-year-old Attone Bridge.
The bottom of the bike path is mostly dirt as the route runs almost entirely through the forest. In this section there are also some short passages on the grids.
Instead, having passed the Chitò bridge, the bottom becomes asphalt until the arrival point.
Route mapped by Valleserianabike
The start of the cycle path is from Clanezzo: walk up a short slope with two hairpin bends (via Belvedere) and there is the beginning of the path on the left.
Immediately you will encounter a short descent and then continue flat in the woods. The bike path follows the contours of the hill and with wide curves and small valleys shows you picturesque views of the Imagna Valley. The route runs on wide dirt tracks surrounded by nature and sometimes next to mountain rocks. In any case, the trail is in every part well protected by guardrails.
In this first section of the bike path, where you will hold Mount Ubione on one side and the Imagna Torrent on the other, you can encounter several rivulets of water and springs, which make the route even more impressive.
After a kilometer or so from the start of the trail, you pedal over metal grates that let you catch a glimpse of water running inside the remains of the old water channel.
At the third kilometer, you cross the valley at Strozza by crossing the late 19th-century Chitò canal-bridge, consisting of six stone arches. Here the track consists of a bottom of metal gratings and railings, making it very protected and safe.
Once you reach the other side of the river, follow the path that runs parallel to the provincial road. After a few meters of road between houses, you end your bike ride in the hamlet of Medega di Capizzone.
