Railway and tourism in Italy

This paper deals with the development of tourism and its relationship with railways, since the nineteenth century, when railway tourists were mostly foreigners. Tourists appreciated the cultural value of the railway integrated on a territory, because the train was fundamental in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries for connecting towns and villages. The stations, railway depots and goods yards, and the scenery visible from the train windows represent an important added value for making the most in the marketing of a territory. Nowadays, old trains can be again of interest in the discovery of a territory. In contrast, new tram-trains may give an innovative image of the railway. As a case study, this paper will analyse a railway line in Tuscany and the attempt to develop historical trains as a re-use with cultural value on a line closed to normal traffic, the Orcia Valley railway Asciano-Monte Antico, in Tuscany. This railway was closed in 1994 and tourist trains have until now prevented the track from complete abandonment while contributing value to the valley, which became a UNESCO world heritage in 2004.