A fascinating bicycle-hiking route that travels through theIsola Bergamasca area-the area west of Bergamo bounded by the Brembo and Adda rivers-and reaches Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII.
Sotto il Monte John XXIII is named after Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, or Pope John XXIII, who recently became a saint. The proposed itinerary will take you there along very pleasant and relaxing bicycle paths and traffic-free roads.
The start of the cycleway is in Bergamo, right on Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII. You get away from the city by riding along some stretches of cycle path and then pedaling close to the hills of Bergamo and, crossing the Brembo River on the Briolo bridge, you find yourself in the Bergamasque island.
Having passed through the villages of Locate and Mapello, the hike continues close to Mount Canto in the quiet village of Pratolongo and shortly reaches Sotto il Monte.
In Sotto il Monte we recommend visiting the places dear to Angelo Roncalli such as the house where he was born, the Cà Maitino museum, the little church of Santa Maria where he was baptized, the parish church with the Obedientia et Pax Crypt, and the nearby Peace Gardens. Also, with a short hike, you can reach the tower of San Giovanni located on the top of the hill overlooking the town.
The cycle-hiking route is totally on asphalt roads, so it can be traveled by any bike, it passes through quiet areas with little traffic but still for some stretches on roads, so we recommend the usual caution.
Departing from the Bergamo train station, ride along Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII to the Propilei di Porta Nuova (gateway to the lower city) turn left onto Via Tiraboschi and go straight ahead until you start cycling on the bike path behind the large complex “il triangolo” .
Cross Via Palma il Vecchio and continue on the sidewalk bike path that continues in a straight line through the San Paolo neighborhood to the Parish of Loreto. Now turn right along the residential area of Loreto and finally reach the Longuelo traffic circle. Continue right, at the stop sign go left cross the street and then right where at the traffic circle you take the second exit between the apartment buildings.
When you reach the stop sign go left along Via Longuelo flanking the golf courses and after about 500 meters return to the bike path for a short distance. At yet another stop sign go right on via Piatti and you reach the center of Mozzo.
When you get to the church in Mozzo, turn left and then right (without taking the underpass) and ride the short section of bike path and then use the next underpass that takes you next to a supermarket and to the traffic circle where you go right.
When you reach the stop sign, turn left and go down Via Leonardo da Vinci to the right turn-off where you cross the Brembo River over the narrow Briolo bridge. Go down a short, easy climb, at the stop sign go left and after the gas station take a right onto Via Malpensata.
At the end of Via Malpensata turn right and immediately left along Via caduti e dispersersi dell’aeronautica at the end of which you go right again and then immediately left onto Via Diaz between fields and some businesses.
Go through an underpass that takes you to the houses of Locate, keep right and then go left on the cycle path that runs between the village and the fields until the traffic circle where you go right and follow Via Europa for 400 meters. When the street bends to the left abandon it by going right and you are shortly after at the traffic circle in the village of Mapello.
In Mapello we suggest you make a detour to visit two churches: the sanctuary of the Madonna di Prada, a few meters from the traffic circle, a beautiful Marian shrine nestled in the fields with a tree-lined street that joins the center of the village; the second is the church of San Michele, easily visible because it is located high on the hill and from whose churchyard you can admire a remarkable panorama of the “Isola Bergamasca.”
The paved road continues along the fields: take the alternating one-way street that runs around Villa Gromo, a 17th-century residence of the Zanchi counts, located in the locality of Valtrighe, then continue to the right on Via Tasso slightly uphill passing through the localities of Piana and Botta.
At the traffic circle do not follow the road signs for Sotto il Monte but continue slightly uphill straight through a quiet area with a few groups of houses in the woods of the locality of Pratolongo. At the descent go right and shortly you will arrive at the square of the municipality of Sotto il Monte, the end point of the itinerary.
