The 8 most beautiful trains in Italy. Worth trying – 2

THE CIRCUMETNEA

As the name suggests, the Circumetnea railway runs around the slopes of the largest volcano in Europe. 110 km of track encircle Etna amid citrus groves, olive trees and prickly pears, between the black of the lava and the blue of the Mediterranean Sea.

The departure is from Catania, at Catania Borgo station. As you enter, you cannot fail to notice the old steam locomotive no. 14, which carried, among others, Edmondo De Amicis on his journey at the beginning of the twentieth century.

The presence of the great volcano will reveal itself before you in an almost shocking way, with the sight of the 1669 lava flow, the one that reached and destroyed Catania.

Then you will reach the stations of Bronte and Randazzo, Lake Gurrida and Passo Zingaro with its characteristic pistachio plantations.
The circular route will end, of course, in Catania.
Oh, we almost forgot: by booking the organised trip, you can travel on the ALn56, better known as the “Littorina”. A diesel-powered internal combustion railcar that entered service in 1937 and was built by Fiat Ferroviaria. There are still two of them: the other is in the museum at Bronte, and it too is waiting to speed along the tracks again.

THE RENON TRAIN

Inaugurated on 13 August 1907, the Renon train carried passengers from Piazza Walther, in the centre of Bolzano, to the marvellous Renon Plateau, one of the natural jewels of South Tyrol.

Between Bolzano and Maria Assunta, the rack railway had to overcome a considerable difference in height, reaching just under 1,000 metres in altitude. Then the route became flat, from Maria Assunta to Soprabolzano, Stella and Collalbo, the villages of Renon.

A little train modelled on Swiss trains, the pride of early twentieth-century tourism. Unfortunately, over time the rack section was abandoned. Today, however, the narrow-gauge train remains, and it is an experience not to be missed.

You will travel from Soprabolzano to Collalbo and Maria Assunta. If you are lucky, you will ride in vintage carriages; if not, there are modern ones. Either way, you will take a journey through nature and time (Sigmund Freud, among others, loved to stay at Renon). And you will enjoy a breathtaking view of the Dolomites.