Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
cycling country, with no mountain rises to worry about and plenty of villages to explore.
The
Iseo tourist office
( 030 98 02 09; Lungolago Marconi 2; 10am-12.30pm & 3.30-6.30pm Easter-Sep,
10am-12.30pm & 3-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-12.30pm Sat Oct-Easter)
can provide brochures with routes and
wineries. The catch is that few wineries actually open their doors to passers-by. During
the year, some open on certain weekends but tasting visits generally have to be booked.
Provaglio d'Iseo
, 3.5km south of Iseo, is dominated by the Romanesque
Monastero San Pietro
in Lamosa
(
www.sanpietroinlamosa.org
)
. The 11th-century church was donated to the Cluniac or-
der of monks, who later expanded the area into a monastery. You can see the outside but
visits inside are by appointment only. The complex sits above a 2-sq-km protected wet-
land, the
Riserva Naturale Torbiere del Sebino
(
www.torbiere.it
)
, formed from 18th-century peat beds.
In late spring the pools are smothered in water lilies. Getting in is hit and miss, although
there is a walking path around it.
About 7km southeast of Provaglio, in
Rodengo Saiano
, is the impressive
Abbazia di San Nic-
ola
, set at the end of a short, cypress -lined avenue. The abbey in its present form dates
largely from the 15th century and boasts a gracious Renaissance cloister. It is inhabited by
Olivetan monks, and getting in just seems to be a matter of finding the doors open, or not.
Five kilometres south of Provaglio, in the hamlet of
Bornato
, stands a 13th-century
castle, inside which was built a Renaissance villa. The castle's owners possess local vine-
yards around here and sell their wine at the castle - a tasting is part of the visit.
WINE TOURING
You could easily spend days exploring the vineyards of the Franciacorta region (
www.stradadelfranciacorta.it
)
. To
that end, most tourist offices in the region should have a copy of the
Franciacorta Wine Route
brochure. It details
numerous hiking and cycling itineraries through the region (some of which are possible by car), and includes a
pull-out list with contact details for over 100 local wineries.
