EN 
IT 
After almost two years of construction, the 46 km section of the Ciclovia del Sole from Mirandola to Osteria is finally a reality.
The new infrastructure, built on the former Bologna-Verona railway line, will be part of theEurovelo 7 North Cape-Malta was inaugurated last April 13th.
In this section there are five rest areas complete with lighting, wi-fi, repair kit, racks, cell phone charger and e-bike battery, water and everything you need to stop in relaxation and safety, signage and soon a photovoltaic system will be installed on each area.
Before the inauguration date, some sections were opened to traffic, the first being the one connecting Crevalcore with San Felice sul Panaro, opened last March.
In addition to this route, the cycle path is made up of four other functional sections, including: Osteria Nuova-San Giovanni in Persiceto, San Giovanni in Persiceto-Crevalcore, San Felice sul Panaro-Mirandola and Mirandola with the border of the Lombardy Region.
Furthermore, along the route, the railway bridges crossing the main waterways and other structures for smaller waterways or crossings of private and local roads have been redeveloped.
To make the route accessible to local users for home/work and home/school travel, 28 connections have been created to facilitate access to the cycle path.
Finally, along the route, 22 tourist totems have been installed that illustrate artistic and cultural excellence of the territories crossed.
The inauguration ceremony, held in full compliance with anti-Covid regulations, was attended by the metropolitan mayor Virginio Merola, the president of the Region Stefano Bonaccini, the president of Adt Emilia-Romagna and coach of the Italian national cycling team Davide Cassani and, connected from Rome, the Minister of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility Enrico Giovannini and the CEO of RFI Vera Fiorani.
“The work we are opening today is not just a cycle path – Merola reported – I therefore inform you that we will nominate the route of the Ciclovia del Sole that we are opening today (April 13th ed.) to the national call for reforestation thanks to which we plan to plant over 5 hectares of greenery: thousands of trees and shrubs, creating green walls and shaded areas that will not only improve the landscape but also the microclimate of the cycle path and the entire environment”.
“Environment, tourism, sport, culture, landscape, agri-food– added Stefano Bonaccini – there is all of Emilia Romagna in this infrastructure. The Ciclovia del Sole, a project led by the Region and which will connect Verona, Bologna and Florence, is not only among the most important European cycle routes but also proposes a new idea of travel capable of combining the slow and careful discovery of territories with greater environmental sustainability. Themes that we have been supporting for a long time. The cycle route will allow us to hook on to the restart by enhancing the many resources of our cultural and food and wine tradition while respecting nature and the landscape.”
The end of this section also marks the opening of one of the main missing sections of the Ciclovia del Sole, the one that connects Emilia Romagna and Lombardy, up to the gates of the city of Bologna.
The Ciclovia del Sole Verona-Bologna-Florence will cover 392 km, of which 154 km in Emilia Romagna and 120 in the city of Bologna. It is part of one of the most important European cycle routes, the one that goes from North Cape to Malta and is 7,400 km long in total.