Original subtitles

Join us on an epic journey

along one of Europe's most spectacular and historic

stretches of coastline.

You can have this view only from the train.

On our way we'll indulge in local delicacies...

This is something very special and traditional and classic.

..follow in the footsteps of pilgrims...

This has been here for 1,000 years.

..as well as visiting one of the world's most beautiful harbour cities.

We can consider it the bling of the 1700s.

We'll meet the people that live and work along the railway line...

All day I see this panorama and for me it's very beautiful.

..as we end our journey

with a breath-taking trip in a time capsule -

a lovingly restored train going up into the mountains.

This is a real journey in history.

In this railcar we can experience how it was to travel

in the '30s and the '40s.

This is no ordinary railway journey.

This is one of the most scenic railway journeys in the world -

Liguria.

TRAIN WHISTLE TOOTS

Our journey begins in the Mediterranean port of La Spezia...

SHIP'S HORN BLASTS ..250 miles up the coast from Rome.

From here we'll embark on a stunning railway journey

in two parts.

We'll be travelling along, arguably,

the Mediterranean's finest stretch of coastline

from La Spezia to Genoa.

We'll take in the beautiful Cinque Terre National Park...

..and the historic port of Santa Margherita

on our way to an architectural marvel, Genoa,

that was for centuries one of the world's most influential cities.

Then we'll travel high into the hills

on the historic Genoa-Casella line,

a scenery-packed gem sure to delight any railway enthusiast.

Our first train is an Italian-built E.464 electric locomotive.

The regional service from La Spezia to Genoa pulls away

right on time at a quarter past ten in the morning.

We're leaving the town or the city.

Joining us is rail enthusiast Benedetto.

He's travelled this line dozens of times.

This may be the most famous railway in Italy

because there's a lot of iconic views.

Those views begin right away.

It's magnificent scenery

and we've got the perfect seats to watch it from...

..some of the time, at least.

There are lots of tunnels.

HE SPEAKS ITALIAN

The railway can't possibly make its way around all of the bays

along this rocky coastline.

Instead, it cuts corners through the headlands.

When the line was first built it had around 50 tunnels,

a difficult and costly construction.

BENEDETTO:

This incredible scenery is our introduction

to the famous Cinque Terre area.

The term, which means Five Lands, refers to five villages

that cling to an eight-mile stretch of coastline

and the countryside around them.

To protect the area's natural beauty

it was made Italy's first national park in 1999

and it remains the country's smallest,

at just 17.5 square miles...

..proof beyond all doubt

that good things come in small packages.

Our first stop is Manarola.

An absurdly pretty jumble of pastel-coloured houses

perched precariously on a cliff face,

Manarola has everything a starry-eyed couple could wish for.

There's even a lovers' lane

or, as the Italians call it, Via dell'amore.

This pretty seaside path got its name

because courting locals used to come here for secret trysts.

Nowadays, it's a rite of passage for visiting couples

to immortalise their bond by leaving a padlock.

There's nothing romantic in its origins, however.

It was cut into the cliff face by the railway workers

who laid the first tracks here.

Who'd have thought that 150 years later

their handiwork would be speeding couples as well as carriages on their way?

From Manarola, we're heading deeper in Cinque Terre.

Today, these coastal communities are easily accessible

but before the railway was completed in 1874,

the people who lived here were all but isolated.

BENEDETTO:

This railway line, which was electrified in 1926,

made coastal travel possible whatever the weather.

It also opened up these previously isolated communities

to visitors from further afield.

Many of them make a beeline for Monterosso,

where the station is barely 50 yards

from the longest sandy beach in Cinque Terre.

They're not the only ones basking in the sun.

The humble Monterosso lemon might not be much to look at

but it's a rare beast.

Such is its succulence and sweetness

that there's even an annual lemon festival here.

It's also the key ingredient of Cinque Terre's signature beverage.

If life gives the people of Monterosso a lemon,

they make limoncino.

Local resident Camilla has agreed to show us how it's prepared.

We drink limoncino after a meal because it's a digestif liqueur.

This is something very special and traditional and classic

and it's original here.

The basics of making limoncino haven't changed since the early 19th century.

First you need to pick your lemons.

I want to produce one litres of limoncino,

so I need one kilos of lemons.

A ripe Monterosso lemon is far from the sour-tasting fruit

you might imagine.

You can eat it without having your teeth put on edge.

The lemons of Monterosso has sweet

but at the same time bitter,

so it's a good balance between the two different tastes.

Once she's picked her lemons, Camilla goes at them with a knife.

She discards the fruit and keeps only the peel.

The white one is very bitter, so I remove.

When I remove completely, I can cut in small slice.

The sliced sections of peel go into a jug

with the rest of the ingredients.

One litres of alcohol, one litres of water,

one kilos of sugar.

That's a lot of sugar.

Limoncino has an intense flavour

and the taste is bitter but at the same time it's sweet.

All that's left is to add a few leaves

and wait.

Now I have finished, I put in the dark and I'm waiting 15 days.

After, I can drink it.

Soon we'll be continuing our journey along the spectacular Ligurian coast

with a visit to a former stretch of the line

that's made a comeback as a coastal path.

TRAIN WHISTLE TOOTS

We're ten miles into our journey along the Ligurian coast.

We've stopped off in Monterosso,

one of the jewels of the famed Cinque Terre.

This town also loves its lemons.

Again, they're a local delicacy.

Such are their charms that they've even inspired poetry.

WOMAN READS IN ACCENTED ENGLISH

Those words were written

by Monterosso's most famous former resident,

Nobel Prize-winning poet Eugenio Montale.

Carlo and Cristina run tours of the area

that give visitors an understanding of the man and his works.

Montale speaks about the immediacy of nature -

the birds, the sounds, the perfume.

In the nature, in the landscape around him,

he can see the same condition of the man,

of the human race.

Montale was inspired by plants' and animals' ability

to prevail against the odds.

Which brings us back to our good friends the lemons.

In his most famous poem, The Lemon Trees,

Montale portrays them as powerful symbols of hope

in an uncertain world...

..a profound thought to take with us as we continue on our way.

CRISTINA:

Back on our train, the views continue to astound.

It is amazing in every season,

not just in summer or springtime.

Because in the winter you can see the crashing waves on the rocks

and the water sprays to the window of the train.

Very romantic.

The next stage of our journey leaves the Cinque Terre

as we head to Levanto and explore its retired railway tunnels.

We then travel 20 miles, a 45-minute stretch,

to the elegant resort of Santa Margherita,

where we'll escape to the remote abbey

of San Fruttuoso.

This line has changed considerably since it opened almost 150 years ago.

Originally, much more of it ran along the coast

but over the years, many shoreline stretches have been bypassed.

In Levanto, our next stop, one bit of old track has made a comeback.

We're joining Marco and Enrico on the Maremonti path,

three miles of former railway that reopened in 2011

as a pedestrian and cycle route.

For railway author Marco this is an exciting trip down Memory Lane.

HE SPEAKS ITALIAN

Building a railway along this rocky coastline was

a Herculean task.

The first train to pass through this tunnel did so in 1874

but work on the line had started 14 years earlier.

Painstakingly dug out with just pickaxes and shovels,

the tunnels, each hundreds of metres long,

were back-breaking to build

but they've stood the test of time.

This path is principally used by tourists

but also by local people

for doing sports, to walk to the next villages.

What's remarkable is how the views change along its length,

from Levanto's parasol-covered beaches

to the wilder scenery further on.

It's good because you can stay in a fresh temperature.

HE LAUGHS That is good during summer.

And you can have beautiful sea views on the cliffs.

The Maremonti path was a railway line for nearly a century.

Now we say goodbye to Marco and Enrico.

The good news is that there are plans to extend this path

in years to come.

As we pass the town of Framura,

we continue on our way along the coast.

At Sestri Levante, 25 miles into our journey, we pause briefly

to change trains.

From here to Genoa, we'll be travelling

on one of Italian Railways' lightweight Rock trains,

which have only been in service since 2019.

Getting on at Sestri is rail historian Sergio,

who's quick to point out a subtle change in the scenery.

Here on this stretch of the railway you have

very wide flat lands between mountains and the sea.

The scenery is... It's wider

and the railway just goes in the middle

of this beautiful scenery.

You have more villages

because you have very, very wide and flat lands.

Gone are the rocky bays and craggy headlands.

Now we're speedy past vast expanses of sandy beach.

Our next stop lies ten miles up the coast from Sestri Levante.

Well, we are just pulling in to Santa Margherita Ligure,

one of the most beautiful stations, I think,

on this stretch of the line.

Not just one of the most beautiful stations.

If there's one word that sums up Santa Margherita

it's stylish.

This is one classy town.

But we're not staying long. We're going on a pilgrimage.

For centuries, devotees have passed through Santa Margherita

on their way to a remote holy site

that even today takes some getting to.

Take the ferry to the pretty village of Portofino

and you'll be well on your way.

Beyond Portofino, the ferry rounds a headland

and the scenery becomes much more rugged.

MAN SPEAKS ITALIAN

If this looks like wild country that's because it is.

In the midst of all this wilderness

our pilgrims' destination, the beautiful San Fruttuoso Abbey,

is an unlikely sight.

All the more so when Abbey director Alessandro explains

how far back its history stretches.

This is my favourite place in the Abbey,

the lower cloister

with the original arches of 10th century.

It's incredible this has been here for 1,000 years.

Now a museum, the Abbey was a Benedictine monastery

for more than 600 years.

It takes its name from a martyred Spanish bishop

whose ashes are still preserved within its walls.

For hundreds of years they've made San Fruttuoso a magnet for pilgrims,

who have made the arduous journey on foot

through dense forests and down the steepest of slopes

to this hallowed ground.

It's a journey that would challenge anyone

but then, that's exactly the point.

HE SPEAKS ITALIAN

Much has changed since then.

Today, bathers rather than pilgrims beat a path to the Abbey doors

and their journey here could hardly be described as challenging.

But some things stay the same.

However you travel to San Fruttuoso,

your pilgrimage will have its rewards.

Coming up, we'll arrive in Genoa

and learn how this maritime metropolis changed the world.

TRAIN WHISTLE TOOTS

We're leaving Santa Margherita on Italy's Ligurian coast.

We're now into the final stage of the first leg of our journey.

Soon we'll be arriving in the regional capital - Genoa.

As an introduction, the city's hinterland takes some beating.

This stretch of the line is

one of the world's most beautiful commuter routes.

The view, it's unique and you can have this view only from the train.

And you're travelling on a normal train.

You're not on something made for tourists.

This is made for everyone.

After two and a half hours and nearly 50 miles of travel,

our views of beaches and bays are replaced

by a sea of apartment blocks.

Now we are very, very close to the big city of Genoa.

With a population approaching 600,000,

Genoa, Italy's busiest port, occupies a 20-mile strip of land

sandwiched between the Mediterranean and the Apennine Mountains.

To reach its centre, we need to go underground one last time.

We are just seeing the sunlight for a few seconds

and now we are going to be again under the tunnels

because Genoa has so much problem of space.

So the only way to build a railway in the past

was building something under the mountains,

so Genoa's trains are like a subway.

This is Genoa Principe station.

Piazza Principe is Genoa's main terminus.

GUARD'S WHISTLE BLOWS

24 million passengers pass through here each year.

It's an unusually attractive station,

so it fits in well with Genoa itself.

Italy's sixth-largest city is an underappreciated gem.

Genoa was a maritime superpower in medieval and renaissance times.

The old port was its beating heart.

Here great navigators, including Columbus, learned their craft

and goods were traded that made Genoa one of the world's richest cities.

Its architecture reflected its prosperity,

nowhere more so than the Palazzi dei Rolli.

So grand were these aristocratic residences

that the Genoese government used them to host visiting heads of state.

According to local guide, Barbara,

even amongst buildings as majestic as these

one stands out.

This is Palazzo Reale.

I think this is probably the grandest

and the most beautiful of all.

It was built by Stefano Balbi at the beginning of the 1700s

for his family.

Then the Durazzo family was the owner of the building

and later, in 1823, the royal family was looking for a house in Genoa

and they bought the building from the Durazzo family.

The Palazzo Reale dazzles from every angle.

As you move through the building,

each room seems to try to outshine the last.

Barbara has two favourites,

starting with a glamourous little number in red velvet.

We are in the throne room that has been refurbished in 1842,

the main room where the aristocracy could be received

by the king when he was in town in Genoa.

So that's the reason why you see a lot of gold

and, of course, wooden carved decorations.

And, of course, there is the big chair, the throne, with a crown

that probably were used for special events

when the aristocracy was visiting the king when he was in Genoa.

Even the splendour of the throne room pales in comparison

with the Palazzo Reale's crowning achievement -

the Hall of Mirrors.

We can consider it sort of the bling of the 1700s,

full of decoration, statues - beautiful statues -

golden leaves you see decorated everywhere

and mirrors that were very expensive at that time.

This vast room was used for banquets

in honour of the most prestigious visitors to the city,

including Emperor Joseph II of Austria

and Napoleon Bonaparte.

Try to imagine what could happen here during an entertainment.

So tables set, very long tables.

A lot of seats, a hundred of people, music

and a lot of food.

Inspired by its counterpart at the Palace of Versailles in France,

the Hall of Mirrors was an unashamed attempt to stun

and the finest craftsmen of the day were brought in to ensure it did so.

After 25 years that I'm coming here to visit these beautiful buildings,

I'm still breathless when I enter this room

because the mirrors, the windows, the frescoes, the chandeliers

and the statues, the marble statues, are really, really amazing.

We'll be leaving Genoa soon but not before taking advantage

of the city's love affair with fine food.

Nowhere is that more evident than at the Mercato Orientale,

a central market that's been running for 120 years.

HE SPEAKS IN ITALIAN

There's no end of choice but, seeing as we're in Genoa,

we're doing as the Genoese do

and eating focaccia.

Locals maintain that the Genoese version is the best in the world...

obviously!

MAN SPEAKS ITALIAN

Manuel makes hundreds of focaccias a week.

First he mixes flour, water, yeast, salt and oil to make a dough.

Then he strengthens the dough by folding it over on itself

before working it some more.

OK.

It's perfect.

He pours a mix of brine and olive oil on top.

The belly buttons trap the brine within the dough.

When he puts it in the oven, it evaporates

to give this Genoese focaccia its unique texture and taste.

Hunger sated, we're ready for the final leg of our journey -

a very special trip on a very special railway.

Half a mile inland from Genoa's old port is Piazza Manin station...

..a peaceful but important place for us

as this is the departure point for the Genoa-Casella line,

a true treat for railway lovers,

not just for its spectacular scenery

but also because it's a real blast from the past.

On weekends and special occasions, the railway puts into service

some of the oldest vintage rolling stock in Italy.

We call it a sort of travelling museum

because we have railcars from the '20s and also from the '50s.

And you can get on board

and you can try the experience to travel away in the past.

Our vintage train pulls out of the station

shortly before ten o'clock in the morning.

After a few minutes, we're passing through the suburbs above Genoa.

Next, we'll head up into the Apennine Mountains

as our journey reaches a stunning climax

on board one of the oldest working electric engines in Italy.

TRAIN WHISTLE TOOTS

After 50 miles of travel along Italy's Mediterranean coast

we've reached the climax of our journey,

a trip into the Apennine Mountains on the Genoa-Casella line.

Nine trains a day run each way along the route,

carrying both commuters and tourists along the narrow-gauge line.

But our train today is a special one.

It's a historic treat laid on by the Friends of the Genoa-Casella Railway.

The railway is actually a sort of jewel.

The scenery is amazing and we cross different sceneries.

This historic railway is a 15-mile journey

packed with breath-taking views

thanks to the three steep valleys it climbs on its way to Casella.

At the very beginning we have Genoa, the town,

and you pass in between the houses, so it's really fascinating.

Then you have the view of the sea and then you have the mountain part.

It's only a few minutes before we're high above Genoa.

Passengers have been enjoying these views since 1929,

the year the Genoa-Casella Railway opened.

And we're getting a real sense

of what the journey was like back then...

..because we're on board one of the oldest working electric engines in Italy,

built way back in 1929

by Italian manufacturer Carminati and Toselli.

This is a real journey in history.

In this railcar we can experience how it was to travel

in the '30s and the '40s.

This motorised carriage has been lovingly restored

to its original condition,

from an overhaul of its engine

to a refurbishment of its fixtures and fittings.

We are travelling in luxury now because we are in the first class,

so we are the wealthy people that can afford this kind of trip.

We have the velvet seats and we have also larger seats,

so one here and two there.

Spare a thought for the folks back in third class.

No plush cushions for them.

They have to rest their backsides on unforgiving wood.

But as we cross from valley to valley

the scenery is doing a fine job

of distracting them from their numb nether regions.

Up front,

driver Andrea has some unusual vintage controls to contend with.

As well as vacuum brakes,

this carriage's speed is regulated by a ship-style wheel.

All day I see this panorama and for me it's very beautiful.

I live near here

and this place are my place where I born

40 years ago

and I love this place.

I love this train, I love this work.

Andrea never takes our pace of travel beyond stately.

The maximum speed that we reach is

30 kilometre an hour.

Only sometimes we can reach 35 kilometre

but only in the straight piece.

Sadly, even at such leisurely speeds, our journey comes to a close

all too soon.

Casella is the last stop.

Our arrival at Casella marks the end of our rail journey

but we haven't quite finished travelling through time.

This peaceful town has a fascinating past of its own

and the locals bring it to life by dressing up in period costume.

Casella today is a lovely place for summer, for holidays,

but in the past it was a real important commercial centre.

Long before the railway was built Casella thrived

thanks to its position on the Salt Road,

the trading route that linked Genoa to Italy's northern plains.

Today, the town square is the perfect place

to grab a quiet cappuccino

and perhaps a cheeky slice of focaccia

but 300 years ago this was a hive of activity.

The Salt Road came from here

and went up there to that mountain

to climb the mountain

and here there was the passage of mules and muleteers.

This is the house

in which the caravans had to pay their passage fee.

That other house,

which is in that part of the square,

this was the house of the farrier.

Nowadays, the owner is Mr Ferrari, so the origin is that.

All this history is enough to make a man feel out of place in this century.

I define myself a man who lives now but for a mistake

because I would have preferred to live in the medieval era.

And Andrea's not the only one.

I am a noble lady

and this, she is er...

I... Eh? A company girl. A company girl.

My company girl.

And we walk around the country of Casella.

MEDIEVAL MUSIC PLAYS That's not all these damsels do.

Sometimes they and their beaus pause to demonstrate

the fine art of historic dance.

MUSIC ENDS

We've travelled 50 miles up the coast of Liguria

and 15 into its mountainous interior.

We've skirted rocky headlands and hidden coves.

We've found romance, history and tradition

wherever we've journeyed...

..and scenery to die for...

..all capped off by a perfectly preserved vintage railway line.