545 km of the Parks Cycle Route in Calabria have become part of EuroVelo 7, i.e. the Sun Route which connects the North Cape to Malta with an itinerary of 7,650 km through 9 European countries, of which 2000 km are located in Italian territory, from San Candido in Alto Adige to Sicily.
The initiative starts from FIAB-Italian Federation of the Environment and Bicycle, National Coordinator of EuroVelo in Italy since 2011, which – in agreement with the Calabria Region – had proposed the candidacy. The EV7-Ciclovia del Sole is one of the 17 itineraries that make up EuroVelo, the cycle route network created in 1997 by the ECF-European Cyclists Federation with the aim of spreading cycle tourism and active mobility throughout Europe, developing an associated economic for the territories and communities touched by the 90 thousand km of routes in 42 countries.
“It is a source of satisfaction for us – declared the President of the Calabria Region Roberto Occhiuto –join the EuroVelo circuit with our Parks Cycle Route, the largest cycling network in Europe. An extraordinary achievement for which we are grateful to ECF and FIAB who were able to enhance the peculiarities of the itinerary.
The Calabria Region is investing considerable resources on cycle paths within parks and naturalistic areas and we are convinced that this result not only confirms that the path taken towards sustainable mobility and in particular towards cycle tourism is the right one, but represents a further opportunity to promote and enhance our territories”.
“The integration of the Parks Cycle Route in EuroVelo 7 – Angelo Fedi, head of the FIAB cycle tourism area, commented instead – represents a very important result that rewards the territory and the work carried out by FIAB. In our role as National Coordinator of EuroVelo in Italy, in fact, we constantly monitor the routes and discuss with institutions at all levels to enhance and promote the itineraries at a national and international level.
We periodically report to EuroVelo updates on the practicability status of the routes, on new infrastructures, on national and regional investments for their expansion and maintenance. The next step for FIAB is to create the EuroVelo Coordination Center in Italy in which, by combining synergies and skills with public and private partners, we can work in a more structured and strategic way”.
Born in 2020, the Parks Cycle Route crosses Calabria from Laino Borgo (CS) to Reggio Calabria along roads with very low traffic volume, affecting a protected area of approximately 350,000 hectares along four parks – Aspromonte, Sila, Pollino and le Serre – and touching over 60 cities, towns and villages. Completely signposted from north to south and equipped with water fountains, bike centers, rest areas and hospitality areas, it has seen significant growth steps in these first years in both services and infrastructure.
