Meet the participants, get your bike fitted, and head to Palermo train station. Bike + train transfer to San Nicola L'Arena Station (about 30 minutes). Once you're in the saddle, you'll start pedaling to reach the entrance of the “Pizzo Cane, Pizzo Trigna and Grotta Mazzamuto” Nature Reserve. Once we leave the paved road, we'll start our ascent to Monte Sant'Onofrio, which will take place on a fantastic and panoramic dirt road with incredible views. Little by little, the landscape will change, and you'll dive into a charming forest.
Our first stop will be at the ruins of Casina Artale: it was the country residence of the Artale family and the hunting grounds of the Marquis Artale di Collalto, Baron of Colla Soprana. The estate, called Torre Artale, stretched over four hundred hectares and was surrounded by a dry stone wall, much of which is still visible along the route. It was reserved for the baron and his noble guests to hunt. The “Casina” stretched over an area of more than two thousand square metres.
Our ride will continue until we reach an exceptional panoramic point, from where you can see the coast as far as Palermo and then descend to the Mazzamuto Cave, where we'll stop for a visit. The cave is also known as the “Giant's Gorge”, and is a cavern of considerable size and enormous historical and paleontological interest, with a karstic origin.
Inside the cave, you'll find both stalactites and stalagmites; the site has been inhabited by humans since prehistoric times, and remains of a dwarf elephant and hippopotamus have been found there. In the past centuries, caves like this one made Sicily famous as a mythical land, when it was believed that they were once inhabited by giants and the fossil finds of Elephas mnaidriensis were mistaken for the bones of gigantic humanoids.
After the visit, we'll continue to San Nicola L'Arena, where we'll take the train back to Palermo.