Between ancient villages and national parks, it's the summer of historic trains

We are at the halfway mark of summer and the historic trains season (1930s and 1950s carriages, sometimes pulled by steam locomotives) is in full swing. The timeless tracks project launched by the Fondazione Fs has grown over the years, gaining an increasing number of admirers. There are about 600 kilometres of railways that have fallen into disuse because they are unattractive for the regular transport of people and goods, but which still have much to offer: travelling along their route one can admire unique views, in areas of Italy to be rediscovered and opened up to tourism. Thanks to the 2017 law on historic railways, stimulated also by the work of the Fondazione Fs, today these lines are protected and respond to the new aim of re-evaluating the territories they cross by creating a widespread museum of small villages and Italian landscape jewels. The timeless tracks project is projected into the future: it is by preserving the memory of these lines that it is possible to promote the still hidden Italy and, at the same time, the idea of slow and sustainable tourism.

Considered the most scenic railway route in Italy, the Transiberian Railway of Italy or Ferrovia dei Parchi Sulmona-Isernia, between Abruzzo and Molise, runs through the Abruzzo National Park and the Majella National Park. This summer 6,000 travellers are expected, in line with last year's statistics. In August, you can choose to leave on Sunday 4 or on the following weekends: 10 and 11, 17 and 18, 24 and 25, 31. In September there are four dates: Sunday 1, Sunday 8, Sunday 15 and Sunday 29. The itineraries are all concentrated between Majella and the Altipiani (stopping places: Campo di Giove, Palena, Pescocostanzo, Roccaraso), the Alto Sangro (Alfedena, Barrea, Castel di Sangro) and the welcome return of the historic trains, after a prolonged absence, in Alto Molise (San Pietro Avellana, Riserva di Montedimezzo, Carovilli, Pietrabbondante), while waiting for the line to reopen in its entirety as far as Carpinone and Isernia.

The season of historic trains inLombardy set up by the Fondazione Fs has some new features this year that will thrill fans of the genre. The 2024 calendar includes 20 itineraries all departing from Milano Centrale. Among the main new features introduced with respect to the past, two vintage trains will travel on the Milan-Brescia-Desenzano route (Garda Express) with scheduled departure on 1 September next, and from Milano Centrale to Genoa on 3 November next with the Etr 252 Arlecchino, the legendary Fondazione Fs electric train symbol of the made-in-Italy and economic boom of the 1960s. Other appointments on the calendar include the Lomellina Express from Milan to Mortara: scheduled departure on Sunday 29 September on the occasion of the Sagra del Salame d'Oca (Goose Salami Festival).

The 2024 programme of historical trains in Friuli-Venezia Giulia has restarted: after the first four sold-out dates in April, there are another 24 appointments from 5 May until 15 December to reach events and locations in the region and experience the thrill of a journey back in time on 1930s carriages. These are the so-called Centoporte, with their wooden lounges and window curtains, perfectly preserved, equipped with luggage and hat boxes and pulled by steam, electric or diesel locomotives.