Historic Train Rides in Italy

Campania and Sicily Itineraries in Original Locomotives and Railway Carriages

Travel aboard the original Centoporte and Corbellini carriages, which date back to the 1930s and 1950s, to visit some of the historic cultural and culinary sites in Campania region of Italy .

Pietrarsa runs from Naples to Portici along Italy’s first railway track. Inaugurated on October 3, 1839 by King Ferdinand II whose goal was to make his kingdom compete with the technological supremacy of England and France. The workshop was initially used to produce mechanical and pyrotechnical materials for the Navy, but later went on to build and repair locomotives and railway carriages. The very first locomotive made in Italy for the Royal Railroads bore the factory’s name. Pietrarsa was the first industrial complex in Italy, preceding the founding of Breda and Fiat by half a century.

Visit the Bourbon Dynasty Era Factory where Italy’s Rail History Begins

Reggia connects Naples with the Caserta Royal Palace. In 1750 King Charles of Bourbon (1716-1788), later king of Spain, decided to erect the Royal Palace as the ideal center of the new kingdom of Naples on the plains of Terra di Lavoro. The project was entrusted to the architect Luigi Vanvitelli (1700-1773), son of Gaspar Van Wittel, active under Pope Benedict XIV in the restoration of St. Peter’s dome in Rome.

Archaeo Train travels to the Roman and Magna Grecia archaeological sites of this region, including Pompeii, Herculaneum, Paestum and Velia.

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Sannio stops in S. Agata de’Goti, the region’s most beautiful borgo;

Telese Terme taste Falanghina and experience a wine tour of the vineyards;

Benevento area museums: Streghe, Egizio and Sannio as well as a tour of the Longobard era town; 

Padre Pio’s Pietrelcina, Fragneto Monforte e Pontelandolfo.

Sicily and Food by Train 87 municipalities are involved in the promotion of the island’s extensive culinary traditions along 50 itineraries traveling in carriages from bygone eras with diesel, electric, as well as a 1912 steam-driven locomotive to rediscover mountains and rural areas, borghi, castles, art and archaeological finds, parks and natural oases.

Explore Campania and Sicily Aboard Historic Trains

Vesuvius and the Golden Mile Archeological and Culinary Excursions

The ancient Romans called d this region of Italy Campania Felix. Then and now, Happy Campania is famed for its ancient ruins, coastal resorts and world renowned culinary traditions. Naples Bay is framed by the Vesuvius, affectionately and fearfully referred to by the local inhabitants as The Monster.

The Golden Mile, the area between the volcano and the sea is one of the most densely populated communities in the world; it is so named for the very fertile orange, lemon and mandarin groves that can be found here as well as the mild climate, the spectacular views of the bay and 122 neoclassical and rococo’ villas that were built in the 18^th Century during the Bourbon Dynasty. It was during this period that work began to unearth the ruins of Herculaneum.

Trams and Funicolar Services the Golden Mile was also the first in Italy to be serviced by a tram service, later the first dedicated rail service and, after WWII, the first toll highway. In the 19th Century, the top of Mount Vesuvius could be reached via a funicolar service.

The Vesuvius National Park is one of the smallest but most monitored park in Italy; the Observatory, the first volcanology institute and today a museum, was established in 1841.

Royal and Cultural Capitals Archeological Parks and Food Excellences 

Archeology and Culture Vesuvius, the golden mile and Pompeii are among the most visited sites today as well as historically; Wolfgang Goethe, Charles Dickens and Alexander Dumas were frequent visitors along with Neapolitan and European nobility in what has come to be known as the Grand Tour of Venice Florence Rome and Naples.

Culinary Excursions of equal interest are the many food and wine trails featuring a variety of agricultural products rich in silicon, iron, manganese and other organic substances that explain the high quality, flavor and taste of the local products, including olives, the Lacryma Christi doc wines, peppers and cherry tomatoes. Imagine the taste and quality of a locally made pizza!

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to visit the Vesuvius and the Golden Mile in Campania Italy