The steam train, known as “Dante’s Train”, will take visitors from the Tuscan capital of Florence to Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region, where Dante fled in 1302 to avoid persecution.
The train will stop at medieval villages and historic cities, including Borgo San Lorenzo and Marradi in Tuscany, as well as Brisighella and Faenza in Emilia-Romagna, following in the footsteps of the “father of the Italian language”, who died in 1321.
The service will be available to tourists on Saturdays and Sundays from July 3 to October 10.
Travellers will be able to get off to visit the villages, castles and hills that the great poet passed through more than seven centuries ago.
The initiative was unveiled last week by the Emilia-Romagna regional government, which invested €420,000 into the project.
“We are responding to a new demand for experience-based tourism,” the regional tourism councillor for Emilia-Romagna, Andrea Corsini, told Italian news agency ANSA.
The Dante Train follows the poet’s life through these unforgettable stops:
- Florence
- Vaglia
- Borgo San Lorenzo
- Ronta
- Scarperia and San Piero a Sieve
- Vicchio
- Crespino del Lamone
- Marradi
- Brisighella
- Faenza
- Ravenna
