About us
Why Via delle Abbazie exists
Via delle Abbazie is an amateur, non-profit project. It exists to share, by bike, a land and the beauty you discover by going slowly. There are abbeys and hermitages, and also back roads and villages left off the postcards. We write about them so that those who pass through do so slowly, with respect for the places and for the people who live there. We share what we learn, without selling trips. Everyone sets off in the saddle and at their own risk.
The route runs by bike from the Alps to Montecassino, as a secular pilgrimage. The idea was born on the road, among friends, and grows one stage at a time.
Andrea Bariselli
Creator and project lead
Psychologist and neuroscientist, author and science communicator. At twenty-five he ran a clinical psychology centre, working on chronic pain and neurological disorders. He then took neuroscience outdoors, to study how environments and landscapes act on attention and emotion. For Rizzoli he wrote “A Wild Mind” (2024), which grew out of his podcast of the same name on the brain and nature, and “Unspecial” (2026). He writes the Mantica newsletter and contributes as a reporter to DOVE (Corriere della Sera). He leads expeditions and journeys, from the Atacama Desert to Mongolia.
Claudio Sabatti and Andrea Razio
Travel companions and co-creators
The idea of Via delle Abbazie was born with them, cycling through the Atacama Desert.
Where we are
2026 is our year of scouting. We are defining the tracks, testing them by bike on the ground, and we have started writing to the abbeys and to places to stay. The opening is planned for 2027. The project is independent and run by private individuals.
Riding in silence: what the research says
After a few hours in the saddle on an open road, the horizon widens and thoughts slow down. Research offers clues, nothing more. According to Rachel and Stephen Kaplan's attention restoration theory, natural settings hold the gaze “softly”. In this way they may help a focus worn down by everyday life. Many studies link regular, moderate aerobic exercise with better mood, and time outdoors with higher perceived well-being. Therapy is something else. Here it is enough to ride slowly, for long enough to make room for your thoughts.
— Andrea Bariselli
This text is not medical advice: if you have health concerns, talk to a professional before you set off.
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