On Saturday 10 February, the Treno del Ricordo (Train of Remembrance) will be inaugurated at the Trieste Centrale station. The train is part of the initiatives planned for the Day of Remembrance, a civil commemoration established by law 30 March 2004, n.92 ‘in order to preserve and renew the memory of the tragedy of the Italians and of all the victims of the Foibe, the exodus of people from Istria, Fiume and Dalmatia from their land after the Second World War and of the more complex story of the eastern border’.
The historical convoy, promoted by the Minister for Sport and Youth, will host a multimedia exhibition open to the public, through which the journey made by the exiles can be traced. The four main wagons (plus the entrance and exit wagons) will frame the four sections into which the exhibition is divided: Italiannes, Exodus, Journey of Sorrow and Memories of a Lifetime. Archive footage from the Istituto Luce and Rai Teche archives is showcased along the exhibition route, together with original videos, photographs and items provided by the Istituto Regionale per la Cultura Istriana-Fiumana-Dalmata (IRCI).
After the inaugural event on 10 February, the Treno del Ricordo will remain in Trieste the following day. Its route across the country will include stops at 12 other Italian stations: Monday 12 February in Venice Santa Lucia, Tuesday 13 in Milan Porta Garibaldi, Wednesday 14 in Turin Porta Nuova, Thursday 15 in Genoa Piazza Principe, Saturday 17 in Ancona Centrale, Sunday 18 in Bologna Centrale, Monday 19 in Parma, Tuesday 20 in La Spezia Centrale, Thursday 22 in Florence Santa Maria Novella, Saturday 24 in Rome Ostiense, Sunday 25 in Naples Centrale and Tuesday 27 in Taranto. It will be possible to board the train from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the last entry at 5.30 p.m.
The project, promoted by the Minister for Sport and Youth, is co-funded through the Struttura di missione per gli anniversari nazionali ed eventi sportivi nazionali e internazionali (Mission Structure for National Anniversaries and National and International Sporting Events) and implemented by FS Group and Fondazione FS Italiane, with the cooperation of the Ministry of Education and Merit, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Defence, Rai Teche, Istituto Luce, Istituto Regionale per la Cultura Istriana-Fiumana-Dalmata (IRCI), Rai Cultura and Rai Storia.