About this journey

The journey departs from Firenze Santa Maria Novella station, whose modernist terminal building — designed by the Gruppo Toscano, including Giovanni Michelucci, and constructed between 1932 and 1934 — stands adjacent to the Gothic church from which the station takes its name. The station itself was first inaugurated on 3 February 1848, originally under the name Maria Antonia, and was renamed following Italian unification.

The route south follows the Linea Lenta, a 314 km line whose origins date to before Italian unification, when the Apennines and the political boundary with the Papal States forced a tortuous alignment through the valleys of the Arno, Paglia and Tiber rivers. The first section, between Firenze Santa Maria Novella and Pontassieve, was opened on 20 September 1862 by the Livornese Railway Company. The line's UIC tortuosity index stands at 68%, with five major curves — at Pontassieve, Arezzo, Ficulle, Orte and Fara Sabina — limiting speeds to up to 95–105 km/h. Electrified at 3,000 volts direct current in 1935, the line today serves primarily regional, InterCity and freight traffic since the completion of the parallel high-speed Direttissima on 26 May 1992. The journey ends at Roma Termini, the contrast between the river valleys of Tuscany and the broader Tiber plain marking the gradual transition from one city to the other.