Test of the loop that you should never call "Small" again
Routes in Franciacorta
The card
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Recommended parking: Cazzago San Martino, Via Giuseppe Verdi.
- By train (Brescia-Iseo-Edolo Line): get off directly at Bornato-Calino station. To plan your trip and check the availability of bike transport, consult the official timetables on the Trenord website.
- By car from Milan / Bergamo (A4): exit at Rovato → take SP18 towards Bornato / Cazzago San Martino → follow road signs towards the train station.
- By car from Brescia: take SP510 towards Iseo → exit at Passirano / Cazzago → continue towards Bornato centro and follow signs for the station.
The experience
In recent months, the association of municipalities Terra della Franciacorta has presented two new cycle tourism routes. As part of the project funded by the Lombardy Region, called “Franciacorta Cycling – amphitheater on Lake Iseo”, the municipalities in the area have also installed thirty multi-function columns, equipped with both tools for bicycle repair and charging sockets for e-bikes and smartphones.
Franciacortino aims to help spread useful information to all two-wheel enthusiasts who live, stay, or are simply passing through Franciacorta. That's why I decided to personally test these two new routes, available on the visitfranciacorta.info website and its Komoot profile. Starting from the official portal, I reached the Komoot page of Terra della Franciacorta and downloaded the original track of the Anello Piccolo (Small Ring), the itinerary I will tell you about today.
The route spans almost 30 km, passing through seven municipalities, with an excellent mix of paved and unpaved roads.
The tour
The itinerary starts right from the Bornato-Calino station, on the Brescia-Iseo-Edolo railway line, one of the seven stops serving the Franciacorta territory. In the parking lot, you immediately find a multi-tool station of the “Culture Cycle Path”, excellent for a quick bicycle check before setting off.
The ride begins by turning right towards Calino, a hamlet of Cazzago San Martino. After a few meters on asphalt, you enter the cycle path that runs alongside the road and continues until the cemetery. After passing the cemetery, you turn onto the dirt road towards the church, tackling the first short uphill climb, amply rewarded by a splendid view of the vineyards and historic residences of the area.
Back on the paved road, you cycle alongside the parish church of San Michele Arcangelo and turn right in the locality of Fontanone; this secondary dirt road then leads onto the main Via Papa Paolo VI. Keep right for a few hundred meters and turn left at the impressive post office building, in front of which another multi-tool station is located, this time part of the project Franciacorta Cycling.
A little further on, the route turns right onto Via Rotonda, leading into the spectacular Boschi area. Here the asphalt narrows to a single lane and continues winding, offering a pleasant up-and-down ride immersed among vineyards and small woods. From this point, the route heads towards Torbiato di Adro, reachable via a dirt road that crosses, thanks to a bridge, provincial road XI between Iseo and Rovato.
Continuing, the road begins to climb and the uneven dirt track gives way to asphalt in one of the most enchanting spots in all of Franciacorta. You find yourself between Via Lovera and Via Bellavista, on the border between the municipalities of Adro and Erbusco, a stretch that offers a truly picturesque view. In addition to the geometric rows, dry stone walls, and historic residences, from here you can enjoy a splendid panoramic view that extends to Lake Iseo and Monte Guglielmo. The climb forces you to slow down, but the effort is amply rewarded by the landscape.
Via Bellavista leads to the top of the hill, then descends towards the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Neve, located just below on the right of Via Torbiato. In this phase of the route, continue straight, passing two roundabouts; at the third, keep right to take Via Serrandina, which is directly ahead a little further on. From here, the route skirts the town of Adro and leads to the slopes of Monte Alto, continuing onto Via Cave, which again takes you through the vineyards towards Nigoline di Corte Franca.
The route in the territory of Corte Franca retraces the “Green – Brut Route” already described previously: descending from the cobblestone Via Sant'Eufemia, next to Palazzo Monti, you turn twice to the left, crossing the hamlet of Nigoline in the direction of Colombaro. Once out of this last village, the tour continues towards Clusane d'Iseo.
You arrive at Clusane from Via Luigi di Bernardo, passing alongside the parish church and reaching the stop sign that overlooks the busy SP12 road; here, turn left towards Sarnico. Immediately after the traffic light, a series of three consecutive right turns leads to Lungolago Capponi: first take Via Carlo Lanza, then Via Sebina, and finally Via San Rocco, which opens directly onto the splendid lakeside scenery. You can walk along the promenade to its end, letting your gaze sweep from the boats moored in the harbor to the Bergamo shore, extending your view further to spot Monte Isola and the small island of San Paolo.
At the end of this spectacular deviation, turn right again into an alley that leads back to the provincial road SP12. The advice here is not to cross it immediately, but to turn left to smoothly join the cycle path towards Iseo. At the end of the cycle path, it is advisable to get off your bike for a moment and use the practical pedestrian crossing, which allows you to safely reverse direction and take the ascent towards the hamlet of Cremignane. At the top of the climb, on the right side of the road, you will find a tree-lined parking area: a convenient resting spot equipped with a water fountain and two tables placed in the shade of the foliage.
Exiting the town of Cremignane, you will once again have to deal with crossing a busy provincial road. In this case too, it is advisable to make a small detour, taking the cycle path to the right of the roadway to use the dedicated shared pedestrian/cycle path. From here, the route continues on the perpendicular Via Segaboli, which leads back into the territory of Corte Franca; you pass behind the Le Torbiere shopping center – within whose parking lot another charging station for the project is located Franciacorta Cycling – to then delve onto the dirt road that winds through the vineyards around the Torbiere del Sebino Nature Reserve.
In this specific section, the lack of vertical signage might be noticeable, as the dirt paths tend to split and it's not always immediate to follow the GPS track. The invitation to the cycling tourist, however, is not to worry too much about staying precisely on the exact route: it's better to let yourself be cradled by the beauty of the surrounding nature and follow the road fluidly, confident that by maintaining the direction, it will be easy to pick up the track a little further on.
Leaving the dirt road, in fact, you'll find yourself crossing the paved road once again to take the perpendicular via San Carlo; this road heads towards Provaglio d’Iseo, offering a splendid panoramic view of the nature reserve. Entry into the territory of Provaglio occurs by crossing the level crossing located next to the train station. Immediately after the intersection, it is advisable to cross the road to enter the bike path that leads towards the center.
After passing the cemetery, you face the last climb of the tour: the one that goes from Provaglio d’Iseo up to Monterotondo via the rural via Gremoni. The road continues uphill for just over two kilometers but, even in this case, the beauty of the surrounding landscape helps to alleviate the effort.
As soon as the road begins to descend, the goal is within reach. The final four kilometers lead back to Bornato di Cazzago San Martino, skirting the mountain between Passirano and Monterotondo. The final meters of the loop offer a picturesque passage through the historic center of Bornato, along Via Castello, dominated by the imposing profile of Bornato Castle, a splendid Renaissance villa enclosed within ancient medieval walls that fittingly concludes this ride in Franciacorta.
I recommend this tour to everyone: for me, it's the perfect mix of relaxation, fun, and effort. It's a route accessible to everyone, but it will certainly challenge beginners or those without any specific training. At the same time, it will offer unique views, even for those who live in the villages it passes through. I find it such a beautiful route that the name "Anello Piccolo" almost fits it: if I had to rename it, I'd definitely call it "Il Classico."
If I had to suggest one way to improve the Terra della Franciacorta association, I'd definitely suggest adding vertical signage, which would be a huge help, especially on some dirt sections. Now I can't wait to try the Anello Grande as well: you'll find my review on this site soon.
Founder of Franciacortino
I explore Franciacorta by bike, pedaling slowly through stories, roads, and details.
