An alternative route along the Livenza River from Ceggia to Conegliano, crossing through Motta di Livenza and Portobuffolè as in the San Stino to Sacile route.
Point of departure is the train station at Ceggia on the Venezia-Trieste line. Upon leaving the station head towards the center of town, head left, cross the Piavon and take the street on the right side of the canal (Via Noghera); following the Piavon you come to the border with the comune [municipality] of Cessalto and immediately afterwards you will find Villa Zeno, the easternmost of the Palladio villas, currently (2014) under renovation.
After Villa Zeno you arrive at Cessalto and continue along the Piavon as far as a rotary where you take the road to the right to Motta di Livenza (Via Calnova). Start by riding along the Livenza and shortly after you will come to the residential section of Motta; after going through the main piazza of the village follow the Livenza up to the underpass below the train tracks and then as far as a small rotary. From there take the road to Mansuè (Via Cornè); it is a very quiet local road that runs between the fields and through the village of Navolè as far as Mansuè. Here you join onto a very wide provincial road and follow the signs for Portobuffolè (for some unknown reason, in this area almost all the village names end with an accented è) which we reach shortly after, taking the turn to the right towards the village center.
Portobuffolè is a beautiful medieval village preserved almost intact to the present day and warrants a visit and a tour of its historic center, however small; of significance are the north tower, the house of Gaia del Camino, a museum of bicycling and the small campo [square] of the Ghetto.
You leave the village by going through the city gate and across a bridge that at one time crossed over the Livenza, today only a big ditch because the course of the Livenza was diverted to the south. Immediately after, on the right, there is another attractive Venetian villa, Villa Cellini Giustinian which has been beautifully restored and now is a luxury hotel and restaurant. Immediately after a bicycle underpass leads you to the other side of the provincial highway.
Emerging from the underpass take Via Settimo to the left, and follow this route as far as the village of San Cassiano di Livenza and, after a bit, the riverfront park of Villa Varda.
Shortly after Villa Varda take a ramp on the right which takes you onto the bridge over the Livenza and immediately after a double rotary, where we take the road towards Gaiarine. At Gaiarine follow the signs for Conegliano/Codognè. At Codognè take note of the large Villa Toderini to the right.
Shortly after Villa Toderini take a left onto Via 30 Ottobre and come to a rotary where you will find the provincial highway to Conegliano on the right. This section of road is the busiest with traffic and the least bike-friendly of the entire route and is in excess of ten km/6 miles. Eventually you reach the city of Conegliano, where there is a train station on the Venezia-Udine line.
