This Site Is Popular with Cyclists, Especially on Sundays, Offering Itineraries of Various

The Montello

The Montello is an oblong-shaped hill located about 20 km/12 miles north of Treviso stretching between Montebelluna (to the west) and NervesadellaBattaglia (to the east). It is divided by a crossroad,stretching betweenNervesaandMontebelluna,nicknamedthe dorsale [ridge], and by 21 small crossroads (running north south) nicknamed prese [loosely translated as shortcuts].

This site is popular with cyclists, especially on Sundays, offering itineraries of various difficulty:

•low difficulty: one can circumnavigate the entire hill by following the local road,Via Pedemontana,to the south from Montebelluna to Nervesa, which is quite narrow but has little traffic, and is not to be confused with the provincial road [SS248] which parallels about a km to the south and which needs to be avoided at all cost for its heavy traffic. Continuing along the north, from Nervesaby way ofCrocetta del Montello, there is on the other hand only one road,but that is sufficiently peaceful. One can therefore complete an entire loop without too many problems with traffic and without too many grade changes.

•medium difficulty: from Nervesa one can take the dorsale road which climbs sufficiently gently, with frequent pauses on the way up to the high point, which is at Santa Maria dellaVittoria at 371 m/1,217 feet above sea level. From here one can then continuea descent to Montebelluna, or alternatively, go back and descend by way of one of the many small side roads (nicknamed prese), which have sections that descend quiterapidly.

•a level of difficulty for those looking fora challenging climb: one can climb up to the dorsale by way of one of the 21 prese (most of which are unpaved) either from the south or from the north; for example, from Giavera or from Volpago,which offer paved roads, but with rather steep slopes (about 8 – 10%).

The itinerary suggested in the Altimetry and Schedule leaves from the FS train station at Spresiano on the Venezia-Udine line. One gets on to the statale [state road SS13] heading north and shortly afterwards, take Via Buscoon the left[refer to Paolo’s map to see howto do this. RB] which leaves the village by running through the fields as far as NervesadellaBattaglia; here one takes, for a brief section, ViaPedemontana and then the third presa Via Ugo Sacco; one climbs with a moderate difficulty up to a crossing where there is Madonnina del Bosco [little Madonna of the woods]. Here, towards the right of the Madonninais the start of a rather steep ramp section which forces one to use the lowest gear. At the end, Via Ugo Sacco joins up with the dorsale which then takes one to Santa Maria dellaVittoria. From here one starts the descent towards Montebelluna; but just before the end of the descent, it is more convenient to take presa 21, which takes one directly into Montebelluna. From the center of the village one takes the street towards the train station, which is located on our left, and follow the road to Trevignano. This road runs towards Treviso in a gentle descent and, except for Sundays, has light traffic. At Treviso one can reach the FS train station on the Venezia-Udine line.

To the west of Montebelluna and Crocetta del Montello lies the region of the ColliAsolani, where it is possible to extend this excursion.

Photos: no translation required [Paolo: Note: “uscita” is misspelled – 2nd line of l’itinerarioproposto]