Sometimes adventurous, sometimes contemplative

Over rough and smooth, through forests and meadows, uphill and downhill – the Parenzana route offers everything that can fascinate fans of cycle tours over 123 km between Trieste and Poreč. „Sometimes adventurous, sometimes contemplative,“ says Jens, who has cycled the route in the upper part of the Istrian peninsula between the present-day territories of Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. Jens Hoffmann is COO of LAND and an enthusiastic cyclist. „It goes through godforsaken nature, between barren and lush, along vineyards and to old small towns whose train stations have since been converted into residential buildings or workshops.“ Stations? „The Parenzana connected Trieste with Poreč as a railway line as far back as the days of the monarchy,’” explains Daniel, who has mastered the former railway route, which is now used as a cycle path, together with Jens from Milan and Michael from Vienna on e-mountain bikes..

 

 

Daniel Goldscheider is the founder of the Openwallet Foundation (Zurich) and a member of the board of Valamar Holiday Hotels & Resorts, a major tourism company focusing on Austria and Croatia. He explains how the cycle path follows the terrace of the former local railway Trieste – Parenzo/Poreč, which was opened in 1902 during the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and closed again under Italian administration in 1935. The Parenzana is, therefore, more than just a cycle path; it emphasises landscape architect Michael Gräf, director of LAND Austria, the third in the group on the joint bicycle tour. „It connects people and cultures across borders. The route creates a bridge between the countries and reminds us of the common roots of this region.“

 

A green flagship project

Under Michael’s leadership, a LAND Austria team is working with Valamar to integrate a new hotel building in Poreč into its natural surroundings. The idea is also to connect the winding Parenzana to the surrounding landscape with stopovers and service stations. „As a unique cycle path with eleven bridges, six viaducts and nine tunnels,“ says Daniel, „it will also become a green flagship project that not only connects three countries but also sustainable tourism with social engagement for the land behind the coast.“

Michael adds that experiencing the Parenzana by bicycle is a prime example of sustainable tourism. „The route passes through impressive natural scenery and offers unique views. If you stop along the way, you will also find plenty of culinary delights.“ It can be travelled in its entirety—Jens, Daniel, and Michael needed two days for the whole route—or in just a few short stages, possibly even combined with a boat trip along the coast.

 

With the involvement of the local population

From the point of view of landscape architect Stefanie Ostermann from LAND Austria, who is involved in the project, a range of different aspects are combined: „The use of nature-based solutions in combination with sustainable mobility offers great potential for revitalising Poreč and the rural areas along the route – a project that can be realised through public-private partnerships and the involvement of the local population.“

Transforming grey infrastructure from the industrial age into green infrastructure opens up the opportunity for sustainable economic development in the region on the upper Adriatic. As a historic landscape, the Istrian peninsula retains painful memories of violence and expulsion. However, today, the cross-border experience of nature and landscape on the Parenzana route can bring people and their families together with a view to a peaceful future at the three-country corner. Stefanie, Jens, Daniel and Michael agree that working towards this and combining it with sustainable development would be worthwhile.

 

Here is the official Parenzana website:
https://www.parenzana.net/

The history of the railway line:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parenzana

The history of Istria:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istria

The Valamar Group:
https://www.valamar.com/it/gruppo-valamar