A cycling route in the Oltre Collina Torinese area, suitable for cycle tourists and bikepackers, named after the geological formation where glaciers descended from the Alps, leaving behind moraine deposits. The circular route passes through the municipalities of Carmagnola, Villastellone, Poirino, Isolabella, Villanova d'Asti, Dusino San Michele, Valfenera, Cellargengo, and Pralormo, on surfaces composed of 60% dirt and 40% asphalt, along the silt-clay plateau. The route starts in Carmagnola and continues towards Villastellone, with a detour to visit the Lanca di San Michele Nature Reserve, a stretch of the Po River with lush flora and fauna. Villastellone is home to the Castle and the Museum of Popular and Rural Culture. Continuing towards Poirino, with another detour, you first encounter the Cistercian Abbey of Casanova and then the Poirino-Favari Ponds, home to the rare amphibian species Pelobates fosco. From Poirino, you travel a short stretch into the Asti area, in the municipalities of Dusino San Michele, home to Dusino Castle and San Michele Castle, before descending to Valfenera, where La Rocca Park, full of fawns, roe deer, deer, peacocks, and turtles, is worth a visit. Continuing towards Cellarengo, you re-enter the Oltre Collina Torinese area, heading towards Pralormo, skirting Lake Spina, whose dam—built in 1830—is the oldest of Italy's large dams. Once in Pralormo, its castle, a 13th-century medieval fiefdom with a vast English-style park, is worth a visit. It is home to the spring flower and plant show "Messer Tulipano." From Pralormo, the route returns, after about twenty flat kilometers, to the starting point in Carmagnola.
Paolo Crosetto