In this half-day cycle starting from central Bologna and ending at the small town of Sasso Marconi, you can take in hilly scenery of Bologna’s back country, see where history was made at the villa of radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi and sample some local delicacies in one of the province’s best osterias.

The route is entirely flat, mostly along cycle paths and can be done by even the most beginner cyclist. With no tourists around, it offers a chance to see Italian life in all of its ordinariness, away from the sometimes twee environs of the centro storico.