Le ferrovie d’Italia (1861–2025). Dall’unità nazionale alle sfide del futuro (Italy's Railways (1861-2025). From national unity to the challenges of the future)

The VIVE - Vittoriano and Palazzo Venezia host the exhibition Le ferrovie d’Italia (1861-2025). Dall’unità nazionale alle sfide del futuro (The Railways of Italy (1861-2025). From national unity to the challenges of the future), dedicated to the history of the railways. The exhibition is organized in collaboration with the Italian State Railways (FS), which celebrates one hundred and twenty years of activity in 2025. Founded in 1905 during the Giolitti era, the FS has since accompanied every phase of the nation's history: from the world wars to reconstruction, from the economic boom to globalization, up to today's challenges of technology and sustainability.

The history of Italy and the history of the railways are closely intertwined. Tracks, trains, and stations have helped forge a new collective identity, reflected in the works of artists and writers, as symbols of progress and modernity, but sometimes also of their contradictions.

The exhibition is organized into four sections: 1861-1904. The Origins and Development of the Italian Railway System; 1905-1944. From Nationalization to the Second World War; 1985-2025. A New Era; and, finally, The works and the authors. The rigorously scholarly texts in the exhibition are visually complemented by specially created video installations using documentary materials, photographs, and period footage. Paintings are also included, from Salvatore Fergola to Marco Verrelli, including De Nittis, Boccioni, and de Chirico; sculptures, from Boggio to Mattiacci; and photographs by great Italian artists, such as Battaglia, Berengo Gardin, Abate, Basilico, Scianna, and Jodice, all the way to the younger Anna Di Prospero. The video installations feature film sequences from Visconti to Fellini, commercials by Pascali, performance videos by John Cage and Sissi, collages by Paolini, installations by Kounellis and Lelario, and excerpts from literature and poetry, from Carducci to Starnone.

The exhibition benefits from a distinguished scientific-academic Committee.

Photo: official poster of the exhibition