7,500 km and 20 Italian regions crossed on horseback in 18 months.
The ambitious ‘journey of the soul’ by Valerio Ceconi is a project born with the goal of creating the first continuous horse trail in Italy, allowing riders and enthusiasts to traverse the entire boot through a mapped and freely accessible route. A visionary idea that originated after a solo journey in 2016 – on horseback and accompanied by another animal – heading to Bariloche.
Thanks to this experience, Valerio realized that he wanted to concretely fulfill his greatest desire: to undertake a journey – strictly in the company of the horse – that winds through the true environmental soul of the Italian territory, away from all anthropized areas, covering a total of 7,500 km in 18 months.
“I chose to travel across the entire Alpine arc and the Apennines, in addition to the central areas of Sardinia and Sicily. It will be an undertaking conducted in complete autonomy, accompanied by my Argentine mastiffs and two mules. I hope to set out by 2024, but I am still in search of sponsors who share and support my project. For now, I can rely on the logistical support of Fitetrec and The Long Riders’ Guild, the international association of equestrian explorers