Vittoriano
Third Section
Devastated during the Second World War, the railway network had to start almost from scratch in 1945. Thanks in part to the aid guaranteed by the so-called Marshall Plan, the American program for European reconstruction, the infrastructure returned to operation with unexpected speed. The State Railways could thus present themselves as the symbol of the country's material and moral rebirth.
From the 1950s onward, the train was once again central to travel and daily life. New models—from Settebello and Arlecchino to Pendolino —embodied the prestige, elegance, and modernity of Italian design. On the other hand, the construction of the motorway network steered the country toward the combustion engine and road transport, leading to the progressive marginalization of rail.
Meanwhile, commuting, emigration from the South to the North, and the growth of urban areas reshaped the social geography of the boom-era Italy. Millions of people moved daily between homes, factories, and new suburbs, experiencing an unprecedented collective dimension of travel.
In the arts, literature, and cinema, the train became a mirror of this transformation: an emblem of freedom and movement, as in the past, but also a memory of the suffering connected to the war, emigration, and other contradictions of modernity.
