Italian train tourism revives historic railways and villages

Over 100,000 tourists have embraced slow travel in Italy via vintage trains operated by Fondazione FS Italiane, with 130,000 travelers in 2016-2017, a 45% increase from the previous biennium. The initiative includes the 'Binari senza tempo' project, which reopened nine historic railway lines for tourist trains, supported by regions including Abruzzo, Campania, Lombardy, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Molise, Piemonte, Tuscany, and Sicily. In 2017, Fondazione FS Italiane's historic trains made about 770 trips (+47% from 2016), carrying 68,500 passengers (+14%), with revenues exceeding €2 million (+51%). The association I Borghi più belli d'Italia partnered with Trenitalia to improve access to Italy's picturesque villages, of which only 20 out of 282 are reachable by train (580 daily connections). Trenitalia also serves 32 UNESCO sites, 8 parks, 22 wellness locations, and 61 beaches. Minister of Cultural Heritage Dario Franceschini stated that railway tourism enables discovery of lesser-known Italian territories and sustainable development.