Original subtitles

Join us on an extraordinary journey

on a train line built to connect two seas across Italy.

The Adriatic Riviera on the east

to the Tyrrhenian Sea on the west.

It's a line that will rise up from the sun-drenched coasts

to the late winter snows of the high mountains,

then down again past blissful panoramas.

Look out the window and see all the scenery. That's just beautiful.

We'll be crossing some of Italy's

most-extraordinary engineering feats.

It's very amazing the effort it took to build the bridge.

Travelling on through stunning landscapes

shaped by the Earth's forces to the Neapolitan coast.

Ending at a railway museum fit for kings.

We'll meet the people who live and work

along this very special train line.

This is no ordinary railway journey,

this is one of the most scenic railway journeys in the world,

Italy's Neapolitan line.

It's early morning in Abruzzo's capital, Pescara.

Blessed with over 12 miles of sprawling coastline

on both sides of the city.

Complete with stunning golden, sandy beaches,

it's one of Italy's best-kept secrets,

and the perfect family holiday destination.

Pescara is one of the very few cities in Italy

where the beaches are located so close to the city centre.

And you're spoilt for choice when it comes to savouring

what this country is renowned for - gelato.

With endless, freshly-prepared flavours to satisfy any palate.

It's the perfect treat before we start our epic train journey

just a few steps away from the Stazione Centrale.

We'll begin our 180-mile cross-country trip

on the latest addition to the Italian railway fleet,

which are all named after styles of music.

The electric Pop or ETR 103.

This Italian-built 220-foot-long train

was designed for regional express service.

And can reach a top speed of 100mph.

It has a capacity of 239 passengers.

Our train manager today is Lucia, who will be looking after us all.

I'm working on the train for about 14 years.

I work on the line from Sulmona to Pescara,

from Pescara to Teramo.

This is a commercial train, but also a touristic train.

Our journey on the old Neapolitan line

will take us across Italy, from the Adriatic coast

to the stunning Bay of Naples in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

We'll start in Pescara and head west towards the Apennine

and the charming town of Sulmona,

where we'll step back in time by hopping on an historic train.

Next, we'll climb up to Abruzzo's peaks

and stop at Roccaraso,

one of the gateways to the Abruzzo National Park.

From here, we'll travel south to Castel di Sangro

and swap trains once again.

Rejoining the main line at Isernia

and travelling south through some spectacular scenery,

until we reach the glories of Naples.

For our last leg of the journey, we'll take a smaller train

and travel on Italy's first-ever train line to Portici,

stopping at Pietrarsa,

home to Italy's most important historic train museum.

Stretching across some of Italy's poorest and least-populated areas,

when the railway was opened in 1873,

it was often seen as the first leg of a journey

many emigrants took to America.

A century and a half later, it's helping to bring people back.

I'm Marino Cardelli from Abruzzo.

Five years ago, I quit my job to start my dream,

which was to promote the Abruzzo region abroad.

So we started to organise very small, authentic tours

around our traditions,

and we inspired so far, 600 people from 39 different countries.

I do believe that travelling by train in Abruzzo

is a fantastic way to discover the region.

Leaving the stunning coast of Abruzzo behind,

our Pop's two-megawatt electric engine

is peacefully gliding us towards the great mountains

that run down the spine of Italy, the Apennines.

My favourite stretch is from Bussi to Popoli,

where we can see so many animals, such as, um...

45 miles into our journey,

and only 50 minutes after leaving the coastal city of Pescara,

we've reached our first stop, Sulmona.

A town to which many Italian-Americans

can trace their roots.

This little station was used for the emigrants to pick up the train,

go to Naples, and then take the boat to Canada and the United States.

But some stayed,

and can thank the railway for allowing them to make a living.

My name is Mario Pelino.

I am the seventh generation of the Confetti Pelino company.

I am the CEO, the owner.

Of course, in Italy, the name confetti

refers to a colourful, tasty treat,

rather than bits of paper thrown around at weddings.

The name confetto comes from the Latin confectum, made together.

So it's two ingredients.

Almond coated with sugar.

That's the traditional confetto.

The history of the Pelino family as producers of confetti

starts in 1783

in a little town about 4km from Sulmona.

About the end of the 1800s,

my great-grandfather moved the company from the centre of the city

to the actual location.

Because at that period, they were building the railroad

from Sulmona to Naples.

So this became a sort of industrial site with several industries.

There was a distillery, pasta makers.

Now, all these other companies are disappeared,

but the Pelino are still here.

Mario's headed up the company since 2002,

but his memories of working for the family business

start much earlier than that.

As far back as his childhood days,

when he used to run around in shorts.

In the past, as far as I remember,

everything came and arrived and go with this railroad.

We used to ship product, receive raw materials.

And when I was a child,

I used to go there to pick up the boxes

with the almonds coming from Sicily.

And the box was a boot box.

And I remember I used the boot to make little houses

that kids used to make for playing with friends.

That's part of my past, it's part of my life.

Cementing the family's ties to Sulmona for another generation

is Mario's son Carlo,

who's going to show us the three simple steps

to create this mouthwatering delight.

Here we have the raw product.

So almonds are peeled and selected.

Here, almonds are covered with a sugar syrup

in order to obtain the final product of confetti.

Then, the heat dries the sugar

and it coats the almond, and that's it.

Although the Pelino family keeps strictly to tradition,

they also produce a modern twist on confetti

by adding a velvety coat of chocolate under the sugar icing.

The colours also play a crucial role

in this small, but well-loved traditional treat.

White ones are reserved for weddings and baptisms,

light blue or pink for the arrival of a precious baby.

Green to celebrate an 18th birthday

and red for graduation day.

Even each wedding anniversary has its own distinct, wonderful colour.

Today, this factory produces over 40 tonnes of confetti a year.

Enjoyed by customers all over the world,

including Britain's most-loved family.

The most famous clients is the royal family,

and the last wedding was Harry and Meghan.

We provide them some little bouquets

with the three colours of the United Kingdom flag,

plus some confetti for the party.

The people that come inside this shop are always smiling.

Because if they come here, it is for some good occasion.

A new birth, a wedding, or just to buy a gift for friends.

I never seen people not happy in coming to this shop.

As we leave the colourful world of Italian confetti behind,

it's time for us to get back on track.

But instead of continuing on the ultramodern electric Pop train...

..we're going to branch off the main line and step back in time

to travel on an historic route

nicknamed the Italian Trans-Siberian Railway.

We have travelled on one of Italy's most modern trains

to Sulmona, high into the Apennine Mountains.

But here, we wind the clock back, branch off the main line

and join an historic train

built long before computers ruled the world.

This diesel locomotive D.445

dates back to when humans did all the hard work, not computers.

Before any passengers are allowed on board,

train driver Vito must conduct a meticulous manual check

of one of the most important features of a train.

With the important safety checks done...

Grazie.

..train driver Vito slowly moves this magnificent train,

formed of four carriages from the 1920s and one from the 1950s,

on to platform one.

SHRILL WHISTLE

And it's not just our train driver who enjoys a ride

on these vintage carriages.

In 2019 alone, 31,000 people hopped on board

this 390-foot-long historic train.

UPBEAT MUSIC

It's 9:00 in the morning,

and the festive mood is already in full swing.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

SHRILL WHISTLE

SHRILL WHISTLE

We're about to embark on the most scenic part of our journey.

Slowly climbing from just over 1,300 feet above sea level in Sulmona...

..to nearly 3,300 feet in the Maiella National Park.

From there, we'll continue south through the Apennine plateau,

passing the town of Roccaraso,

and slowly continue down the mountain pass

into Castel di Sangro, where the historic line ends.

One of the most scenic railway journeys in the world,

this single-track line opened in 1897

to connect remote mountain villages to the main cities.

But on Saturday, 10th December, 2011,

everything came to an end.

The line was closed and abandoned.

A decision that was devastating to some.

But despite the odds, Claudio and others were determined

the line should be saved.

To reopen this line was a real labour of love.

From 2014, this historic train

took special routes every Saturday and Sunday

along Abruzzo and Molise.

This solution became a real touristic route for all people.

From families, people interested in the culture,

geography and history of trains, the history of railways,

this railway line is like a place of the heart.

I'm from Pescara in Abruzzo,

and I have my relatives from Naples.

When I was child, I used to take this train from Pescara to Naples,

and I really fell in love with the landscapes,

also the people on this train.

Running at weekends only...

..the train has its own tour guides to enlighten the tourists on board.

My name is Gabriella Gaeta, and I'm a historical tour guide.

And I like to meet new people

and tell stories about this railway line.

As we start climbing up the mountains

into the Maiella National Park,

it's easy to see why this train line's nickname

is the Italian Trans-Siberian line.

A view so magnificent, enjoyed by all the passengers on board.

My wife and I decided to take this train journey

on a friend's recommendation

because it's got a reputation as being a Trans-Siberian railway,

which is similar to the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia.

And it's snowing at the moment. We're at a high enough elevation

that the snow is building up on the ground from time to time.

Quite heavily, actually.

We enjoy travelling by train because it's very scenic,

it's very, very relaxing.

It's not a high-speed train, it's an antique train.

So you have a really good chance to look out the window

and see all the beautiful scenery. Yeah, it's just beautiful.

We're now one hour into our journey

and are about to reach the spectacular Apennine plateau

surrounded by snow-capped mountains.

Building this railway on rugged terrain in the late 1800s

was no easy feat.

One that train engineer and all-round rail expert

Vittorio fully appreciates.

This line is a true artwork of railway engineering.

And for me, it's the most beautiful line in Italy,

Italy's Trans-Siberian line.

It's 128 kilometres' long,

has 21 stations

and 58 tunnels.

Vittorio now proudly works for Fondazione FS,

a branch of the state railway that looks after and runs

their vast historic fleet.

My job with the FS Foundation mean I can see first-hand

our client emotions.

And these give me a real sense of pride

working with this group.

As we're peacefully gliding through

the plateau of the major highlands of Abruzzo

in one of our historic carriages, it's party time.

Today, we are going to be making a hen party.

She's the bride-to-be, so it's her kind of hen party.

Every time that we are going to organise a party,

it's all about the taste of the bride-to-be.

Because she likes trains

and it's the kind of thing that she likes a lot.

And in true Italian style, there's no hen party without a serenade.

THEY SING IN ITALIAN

APPLAUSE

It's questionable whether this was the highlight for the hen party...

..but for our train journey, it's all downhill from here on.

This is the highest point of the line, and now we go...

After passing Italy's second-highest train station,

nearly 4,300 feet above sea level,

we start our descent.

And stop at Roccaraso.

During the winter season,

this station is a favourite stop for ski-lovers.

But at night...it sees all sorts of customers.

Meet Juan Carrito.

Luckily for us, today, this brown bear is nowhere to be seen.

But one man who came into close contact with him

was local hotelier Valentino Valentini.

This juvenile Marsican bear

is one of only 50 left in the National Park of Abruzzo.

He and his cousins are closely monitored by local wildlife rangers

as part of the park's effort to preserve this endangered species.

To see if we can spot any bears in the wild,

we leave our historic train behind

and hitch a ride with the rangers in their 4x4.

For the last hundred years, the rangers have created a safe haven,

not just for bears, but for a total of 66 species of mammals

and over 230 wild birds.

All living in a national park covering an area

of over 55,000 hectares of land.

Antonio Di Nunzio is a communications officer at the park.

At the park, we have

a bear-population monitoring programme.

We put radio collars on some bears.

This is useful to know how they move from one place to another

and what kind of usage they have of the territory.

With no radio signal to pick up,

our experts put the fancy equipment down

and look for other evidence of bears.

The samples will be logged geographically

and sent to the lab for genetic testing,

revealing which bear was scratching the tree.

Leaving the elusive Juan Carrito and his extended family in safe hands,

we continue our descent to our next stop on the historic train.

SHRILL WHISTLE

So far, from our start on the Adriatic Riviera,

We have been travelling for two and a half hours

and have covered 75 miles.

Now it is full steam ahead as we rush towards the end

of the line for our historic train and rejoin our mainline

to Naples and Portici.

Our train is continuing its journey east to west across Italy

on the so-called Neapolitan line.

Linking the Adriatic to the Tyrrhenian Sea.

As we descend to 2,600 feet, we leave the atmospheric snow

behind and are now approaching Castel di Sangro, the last stop

on our Italian Trans-Siberian line.

Which completes the second leg of our journey from the shores

of Abruzzo's capital, Pescara, through the rugged, snow-capped

Apennines to the Sangro Valley.

Here, we must disembark.

What seems like a quiet train station nowadays was, just a few

decades ago, a hustling and bustling pilgrim destination, but not

of the spiritual type.

During the football season of 96-97, this small town of only 6,000

was touched by a divine intervention.

For the first time in Italy's football history, an underdog

performed the impossible.

Spending two seasons playing with the big boys in Serie B,

the equivalent to the UK's Championship.

The event was known in Italy as The Miracle of Castel di Sangro.

And one player who's since dedicated his entire life

to this legendary football club is the team's top scorer.

The original team was so impoverished they had to play

with a ball made from old socks bound with string.

Fast forward 40 years and a team of mostly locals

performed The Miracle on the 22nd of June 1995 in the city of Foggia.

Becoming the pride and joy of the town

and the entire surrounding area.

But sadly, after two seasons, the miracles dried up and Castel di

Sangro descended down the leagues once more.

Back on the line,

we'll head down to the coastal plains of Campania for the next leg

of our journey.

Leaving Castel di Sangro behind,

we continue through Isernia, travelling south, crossing

from the region of Molise into the sun-kissed

region of Campania.

Then, winding through the outskirts of stunning Naples, we arrive

at the Stazione Centrale, where we'll take our last train.

After 200 miles, we'll travel the last seven

on Italy's first train line,

stopping at Pietrarsa before arriving at the end

of our journey in Portici.

After a few minutes back on our original rail line...

..and this 170-foot-long Minuetto is crossing one of Italy's greatest

viaducts, the Santo Spirito Bridge.

Beloved by local rail enthusiast Fabrizio.

This magnificent structure was so strategically positioned,

it played a crucial part in World War II.

At 10:30am on the 10th of September, 1942, waves

of American B-52s bombarded the viaduct,

but they missed every time.

Instead of the target, most bombs hit the town of Isernia.

It's estimated around 500 people died during this attack.

As a stark reminder of this event,

the town dedicated a square and a statue to the victims

of the air strike.

Ironically, the Germans blew the bridge up when they retreated

just over a month later.

But, like the statue, it rose again as a symbol of hope.

It's very amazing to think about the collective effort it took

to rebuild the bridge.

To me, it represents the willing of the people to get reconnected,

because this is what we do.

We connect people, connect place,

and so we build bridge.

As we continue this coast-to-coast journey across central Italy,

our 130-tonne train gently weaves its way through this most

fertile of landscapes.

In this breathtaking, colourful valley, nature helps to cultivate

a myriad of delicious Mediterranean fruits, filling the area

with the sweet smell of peaches, apricots and blooming almonds.

We are three and a half hours into our adventure

and have covered 150 miles.

Here we cross into another region, Campania.

Our next train session is Caserta.

Located just outside the spectacular royal palace.

The largest royal residence in the world, described by Unesco

as "the swansong of the spectacular art of the Baroque."

And with the rest of the journey happening at the gentlest

of speeds, our train slowly glides towards Naples and its stunning bay,

where we must change trains for the last time.

After covering 173 miles on our Neapolitan line,

we slowly roll into the city

that, almost 150 years ago, gave the line its name.

Naples.

Ahead seems to be an incredible web of iron crossroads,

which train driver Donato appears to navigate with nonchalance.

Well, that might explain his calm state of mind.

Finally we arrive at Naples Central Station.

Located only a stone's throw away from the coast,

the Bay of Naples on the Tyrrhenian Sea is one of Italy's

most-famous shorelines.

Here, we must disembark and change

train for the last time.

There are 390 trains pulling in daily,

carrying nearly 140,000 passengers,

making it the seventh busiest train station in Italy.

Birthplace of the famous pizza,

Naples is also renowned in Italy as the top place to indulge

in a thick, rich and velvety coffee...

..strictly served in a piping-hot porcelain cup in minute quantities

to be consumed quickly.

Hence the name espresso.

With our senses satisfied, it's time to continue our last leg

of the journey and head to the lower ground of the station.

This very last, but certainly not least, stretch of our journey

is only four and a half miles long and was the very first train line

ever built in Italy.

Much like the espresso,

it's not the quantity, but the quality that counts.

On board the train is a passenger whose job is to preserve the history

of Italy's railway.

I am Oreste Orviti, Director of the Museum of Pietrarsa,

the National Museum of Railway in Italy.

We are travelling on the first railway of Italy, built in 1839

by Ferdinand, the king of the Kingdom of Sicily,

to connect the city of Naples into the royal palace of Portici.

It took 200 workers and three years to build, but it allowed the king

to travel to his summer palace in Portici

at speeds of almost 30mph.

Luckily for us, Italy's very first steam locomotive is still perfectly

preserved inside Oreste's museum,

on our next stop in Pietrarsa.

We are working to see the first train in Italy.

In the 1839, start the first train,

from the city of Naples at the city of Portici.

You can see all the train. On top, we have the steam locomotive.

It is built in the workshop, Longridge, in Newcastle, in England.

You can see the tender for the water

and you can see the red and green coach for the king.

You can see the line.

It, remember, the coach with the horses.

After, you can see another coach for the people.

The first two months of the beginning of this line,

100,000 person travel on this train.

The museum is also home

to a staggering 55 steam and electric locomotives and coaches,

representing the history of Italian railways.

Originally built as the royal workshops for locomotives

in Italy's first industrial hub,

it was a place of intense and laborious work,

one that museum director Oreste knows all too well.

For Oreste, the real jewel of the museum is

a royal carriage that belonged

to the very last king of Italy.

This is the royal coach, number ten, of the kingdom of Italy.

You can see inside the beautiful place and the beautiful gold.

They debuted this train of 11 coaches

for the wedding of Umberto II,

the Prince of the Savoy.

The table - one piece of 8m,

the chair and the light

from Murano - an island near Venice.

Wonderful for the glasses.

I introduce you in the private court of the king and the queen.

The queen stay in this place, right? And the king

speak with the Prime Minister and the people.

Maybe smoke.

Maybe read and listen - the radio.

This is a jewel because it is the only piece in the world

you can see a beautiful couch like this.

To reach the very end

of our 180-mile long adventure connecting the east

and western seas of Italy,

we must hop on board the train one last time,

if only for a few minutes...

..where we arrive at the royal seaside town of Portici,

home to the very first train station to be built in Italy...

..completing our epic voyage to the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Our train has travelled from the glorious golden beaches

on the east coast,

climbing up the stunning peaks of the Abruzzo region...

..and back down again, through some of the most breathtaking landscapes,

through to the West Coast and the mesmerising Bay of Naples.

This was a rail line built to create hope, and has left its mark as one

of the most-scenic railway journeys in the world.