Genoa to Brenner Pass Part 2 Great Continental Railway Journeys

I'm embarking on a new railway adventure that will take me

across the heart of Europe.

I'll be using this,

my Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide, dated 1913,

which opened up an exotic world of foreign travel

for the British tourist.

It told travellers where to go, what to see,

and how to navigate the thousands of miles of tracks

crisscrossing the continent.

Now, a century later,

I am using my copy to reveal an era of great optimism and energy,

where technology, industry, science and the arts were flourishing.

I want to rediscover that lost Europe

that in 1913 couldn't know that its way of life would shortly

be swept aside by the advent of war.

I'm continuing my railway adventure

through the stunning landscapes of northern Italy

from the shores of the Riviera

to the Alps.

I began in Genoa, and have travelled east along the coast.

I'm now approaching the port of La Spezia

from where I'll turn inland

towards the cultural and culinary treasures of Parma,

My journey then takes me north to the Alpine towns of Rovereto

and Trento before finishing at the Brenner Pass

on Italy's Austrian border.

This time I defend the Mediterranean

with the Italian Navy.

What do you say in Italian for take that?

-Prendi la mira!

-Prendi la mira!

Discover how an Edwardian Britain in Italy

made motoring history.

He ordered a bottle of champagne

and he put a glass inside the radiator.

And reveal a modern engineering marvel buried beneath the Alps.

EXPLOSION

It's well known that the First World War was preceded by a dangerous

arms race between the German and British navies, but listen to this,

from Bradshaw's -

"The Italian Navy at the time had 15 battleships, 21 cruisers,

"35 destroyers and 18 submarines" -

the navy of an ambitious country.

I'm arriving in La Spezia.

The guidebook tells me that it's "a naval port with the largest arsenal and dockyard in Italy."

Edwardian travellers came here to admire the so-called Bay of Poets,

frequented by Lord Byron, where Percy Bysshe Shelley drowned.

By the time of my guide, verses had given way to vessels.

The royal government commissioned a naval arsenal here in 1861,

as Italy consolidated its unification.

And La Spezia is still one of the most important Italian naval bases.

Gregory Alecci is an expert in Italian military history.

Gregory, why is it that La Spezia becomes, as my guidebook tells me,

the premier naval port and dockyard for Italy?

Well, La Spezia as such is a natural harbour.

Well defended, which is something navies always look for.

In broader terms,

the newly-minted Italian nation intended to build up its navy.

It grew fourfold within 30 years.

By the turn of the century, it was the world's third-largest navy.

Then, in 1911, just before my guidebook was published,

Italy decided to flex its new-found military muscle.

In a bid to compete with its imperial neighbours,

Italy invaded Libya,

then controlled by the Ottoman Empire.

The invasion was welcomed by Italian nationalists,

but the Libya campaign also marked a seminal moment

in European military history.

To hear the story, Gregory and I are taking to the sky.

La Spezia was where the Italian Navy had its first flight experiments.

During the war with Libya,

Italy made the first real war operational flights in the world.

And what use did Italy make of aircraft in Libya?

Well, over the eight or nine months of the campaign,

they actually tried everything.

Scouting, so looking for the enemy.

Messages. They would report what they had seen

to troops on the ground,

literally scribbling notes and dropping them out of the window.

And eventually something more offensive - dropping bombs.

An engineer by the name of Giulio Gavotti

took to the air carrying a small case of 3lb bombs.

He would put the bomb in a tube,

and it would be projected well clear of any obstacles.

And it worked.

The first hits had great psychological effect.

The troops and the people on the ground were frightened.

This was completely new to them.

Gavotti's bombing had only a modest direct effect,

but with his flights over Libya, he expanded the scope of warfare,

helping to shape the conflicts of the 20th century.

So, the Italians invent aerial bombardment.

As an historian, what's the significance of that?

Rather than having to take every inch of ground

as in the First World War,

from a great distance, you can achieve results.

You can hit Germany from Britain.

You can hit Japan from an obscure island in the Pacific.

And the idea is that you can shorten war.

And that idea is still with us today.

While the Mediterranean remains the focus for the Italian military....

Buon giorno.

'..the challenges and the technologies available to confront them are always changing.'

WHISTLE BLOWS

'Captain Giancarlo Ciappina honours me

'by piping me aboard his frigate.'

Good morning, Michael.

Welcome onboard the ITS Virginio Fasan.

Captain Ciappina. Onore e privilegio mio.

-Oh, very nice meeting you.

-Thank you.

Captain, this ship, which I think you call a frigate,

is actually extremely capable.

What is it built to do?

This is a multipurpose frigate.

So it's supposed to do a lot of missions.

Conventional warfare, anti-piracy, illegal immigration control,

protection of our traffic lines in the Mediterranean Sea.

In today's unpredictable world,

armed forces must be prepared for anything.

Should piracy re-emerge as a threat in the Mediterranean,

frigates like this will be in the front line.

Meanwhile, Captain Ciappina allows me to indulge

my swashbuckling fantasies.

Please, Michael, I'm going to show you right now our self-defence gun.

This gun is a 25mm gun.

And this is used, of course, against small targets.

Just have a comfortable seat over here.

And just be very gentle.

Now, lift this, and you can move it.

Ah, bene.

Here we go. That's the way.

Up and down, you move the barrel, this way.

-All right.

-Captain,

I'm just going to drop the barrel to take aim at that pirate.

What do you say in Italian for "take that!"?

-Prendi la mira!

-Prendi la mira!

I'm leaving La Spezia and the Italian Riviera behind.

My next train is carrying me inland into the province of Emilia Romagna,

which lies between Italy's Mediterranean shores

and the cooler mountains to the north.

This region's unique microclimate has helped to make it a magnet

for gastronomes.

I'll shortly be arriving in Parma.

Bradshaw's promises, "a cathedral, libraries,

"collections of paintings and antiquities."

But at this stage of the journey, I need not just food for thought,

but food, and Parma goes together with ham like love and marriage.

And I want a slice of it.

According to my 1913 guide,

"Parma is a place of very old foundation

"but presents a quite modern appearance."

On first impressions, Parma has lost none of its fin de siecle charm.

For a classic taste of the city,

I head for a traditional shop run by Silvano Romani,

and his father before him,

since 1965.

-Buona sera.

-Michael.

-Ciao.

-Sono Silvano.

-Piacere.

-Ciao.

You want to cut some prosciutto with us?

Yes, grazie!

De la?

Parma ham has been recognised as a delicacy for centuries.

The pigs are fed on the whey that's drained from the curd while making

Parmesan cheese.

The resulting ham is air dried and the humidity in Parma contributes to

its unique flavour.

-Molto gentile.

-Molto gentile.

-Piu veloce.

-Piu rapido. A bit faster.

OK, bravissimo!

Bring the knife up...

HE SPEAKS ITALIAN

-Oh!

-Buono, buono!

-Buono, buono, buono!

I'm so excited!

Michael, number one!

Can we taste it?

Si, si!

I'm going to start with some Parmesan cheese.

Trenta mesi in montagna.

30 months old...

HE CONTINUES IN ITALIAN

Absolutely pure, that is milk and salt.

Milk from the mountain, it's wonderful.

Mmm!

The longer it sits, the more flavourful it is.

Well, this is immensely flavourful.

Fantastico! Auguri!

-Congratulations!

-Grazie!

You may think me cheesy,

but in Parma, I'm a ham!

Ha-ha!

-She does understand!

-Yes, I did!

As well as its culinary delights, Parma provides a musical feast.

Composer Giuseppe Verdi was born just 20 miles away, in 1813.

A century later, when my guidebook was still hot off the press,

tourists flocked here to honour Parma's most famous son.

I'm thrilled to be invited to the world-famous Teatro Regio,

one of Italy's most prestigious opera houses,

to hear the story from general manager Anna Maria Meo.

Anna, it seems that in 1913 you had the most enormous celebration

of Verdi's centenary.

Of course. It was a need to celebrate Verdi.

It was a special need by all the population here in Parma.

They wanted to honour the composer in the best way possible.

The three month-long exhibition

featured a dazzling array of attractions,

including performances,

displays of industrial and agricultural prowess

and sporting tournaments.

So, what does Parma feel about Verdi?

Something that is part of the heart.

Verdi's lovers, they know every single note,

they know every single word of the librettos,

so whoever sings here has a very difficult judgment

from the loggionna,

which is the balcony, which are the more popular seats.

So the singers are worried about what's going on in the cheap seats?

Very, very worried

because if the loggionna doesn't like your interpretation,

they don't hesitate to boo.

They are like soccer fans.

Entering the exquisite auditorium of the Teatro Regio,

it's hard to imagine fans in the ornate balcony heckling.

Verdi was a staunch supporter of Italian unification.

And this seems an appropriate setting for works that still

stir the national soul.

For centuries, before television and cinema,

these buildings were the places where performers hatched illusions,

and I like opera because it is today I think the most complex thing,

bringing together orchestra, soloists,

chorus, dancers, sets, lighting,

magic.

CHORUS SINGS IN ITALIAN

HE GIVES INSTRUCTIONS

The great Verdi choruses were repeated

by crowds of patriotic Italians in their day,

but it's fascinating to see how the professional chorus has to

rehearse again and again to achieve perfection.

Un cappuccino, per favore.

My train ride today will take me to a huge change of scenery

and of culture.

With 170km to cover on this leg of my journey,

I'm taking the fast train.

It carries me north-east,

across the fertile plains of the Po Valley

and toward the foothills of the Alps.

A century ago, the traveller on this line would shortly have crossed into

Austria-Hungary, because the border in those days ran along

the northern shore of Lake Garda,

even though many Italian speakers lived further north.

After the First World War,

the victorious Allies redrew the border with Austria

here at the Brenner Pass, and the rechristening of these towns

with Italian names began.

My next stop is beautiful Rovereto,

built along the Adige River

and dominated by its 14th-century castle.

In the early 20th century,

all eyes turned to it during a celebrated challenge

for the world's best-known carmakers, the Alpine Trial.

I'm reliving the glamour and excitement

in one of the most luxurious cars

available to the 21st-century motorist,

a Rolls-Royce Dawn.

Sharing the thrill on the winding roads above Rovereto

is motoring writer Davide Bassoli.

What were these trials that were held here

in the early part of the 20th century?

Yeah, the Alpine Trial was an endurance test

for the major car manufacturers.

These endurance tests had rules.

One of the rules was that the cars cannot stall,

and this was for 1,800km,

1,200 miles.

What sort of technology did they have in those days?

The gearbox was very difficult to use

because you needed the double-declutching,

not just for the down change but also for the up change.

So it was very, very difficult to drive those cars

and also the steering - no power steering at all.

Rolls-Royce knew that a win at the trial

would show the world what British engineering could do.

In 1912, British motorist James Radley

tried and failed when his Silver Ghost stalled on the mountain roads.

But Radley was not to be deterred.

In 1913, the next year, they entered four cars.

Three cars were official by Rolls-Royce

and one private, by James Radley.

When James Radley took delivery of the car in London,

to christen the car,

he ordered a bottle of champagne,

and he poured a glass inside the radiator.

So, at the end of the trial, what is the result?

Oh, it was immense.

James Radley was the man who won this race.

In Europe, and outside Europe, also in America,

everybody knew now about the Rolls-Royce and its reliability,

and Europe and the world realised that that was

the best car in the world.

My four-wheeled alpine diversion has been invigorating

but the rails beckon once more.

The Brenner Railway transports me north,

through the province of Trentino.

My next stop will be Trent, or Trento.

It's in Italy today but appears in Bradshaw's in the Austrian section.

"It has many fine streets,

"palaces and towers, and is thoroughly Italian in character."

At the time of my guidebook,

the status of Italian-speaking places like Trento

was increasingly controversial.

Some felt the unification of Italy wouldn't be complete until these

so-called unredeemed lands were part of the motherland.

An ardent campaigner was Cesare Battisti.

Historian Francesco Frizzera is sharing the story.

-Hello, Michael.

-How are you?

-I'm fine, thanks.

-Nice to meet you.

-Nice to be here.

-Who was Battisti?

-Well, Battisti was a socialist,

he was born in Trento, just over there.

He was convinced that the

Italian-speaking population of Trentino

could have better working opportunities in Italy

because they were a minority group in Austria-Hungary.

But the local population was used to the status quo

and loyal to the Austro-Hungarian crown.

Battisti set out to use the press to win hearts and minds.

He founded a very important newspaper, whose name is Il Popolo.

That was a socialist newspaper.

He became a formidable journalist

and he developed a great ability to manage the public opinion.

The nationalist cause in Trentino gained momentum.

But it was war that would change the province's destiny.

When the First World War erupted, Italy took a neutral stance,

but Battisti fought to change that.

In 1914, he fled to Italy

and then he organised a great campaign

to convince the Italian middle class

to join the war against Austria-Hungary.

You have to think that Italy and Austria were allied since 1882

and, also, the Italian parliament in 1914 was against the war.

Nevertheless, he was able to convince the Italian public opinion

to enter the war.

The Allies had promised to redraw the Italian border

in the event of victory.

After four years of bloodshed,

the Treaty of Saint-Germain gave Trentino to Italy.

Battisti's vision was realised, but he didn't live to see it.

Fighting for Italy in 1916,

he was captured by Austrian troops and executed for treason.

The skilful use of the media, the manipulation of public opinion,

these are sometimes known as the black arts of politics.

Starting from a position where the Italian population of Trento

didn't feel discontent living under a foreign emperor,

Cesare Battisti managed to persuade all of Italy

to go to war with Austria-Hungary.

Quite an achievement.

I've re-joined the railway line north of Trento

on a delightful morning

at a beautiful railway station called Vipiteno.

On the final leg of my journey,

I'm climbing 21km north-east into the Alps

to Brenner on what is now the Austrian border.

Bradshaw's recommends the spa of Brennerbad,

4,390 feet above sea level

at the watershed between the Adriatic and the Black Sea,

at the highest point of the celebrated Brenner Railway.

The Brenner Pass, for centuries the route for armies and pilgrims,

was mastered by the railways in the 19th century.

I'm keen to penetrate how they're boring ahead today.

At 1,371 metres, the Brenner Pass is the lowest in the Alps.

The Austria-Hungarian Empire built the first railway here in 1867,

and almost half of all alpine freight

still passes along this route.

But the line is steep and curved, with inclines of up to one in 37.

Now a new high-speed railway

will bore straight under the mountains in the

world's second-longest tunnel, the Brenner Base Tunnel,

and I'm privileged to get a look behind the scenes.

Hi, Michael. Nice to have you here on the Brenner Base Tunnel Project.

I can't wait to see it.

To reveal the vast scale of the project,

Simon Lochmann is driving me deep beneath the mountain,

and the first thing that hits you is the smell.

The smell is because of the explosions.

When explosive gets in contact with concrete,

it has a kind of sulphate-ammonia smell.

On the current twisting rail route,

speeds rarely exceed 70km per hour.

The engineers here are literally moving mountains

in order to cut journey times across the Alps.

So what you are seeing here is the main tunnel tube

of the Brenner Base Tunnel.

We have two big tubes where the tracks are inside,

there's just a single track,

and the trains always go just in one direction.

That permits us also to go at quite a high velocity,

that means the trains can reach up to 250km per hour.

And what size is all this going to be?

From Innsbruck to Fortezza in Italy is 55km long.

So we have an entire tunnel system of around 230km to do,

and all this spoil has to come out of the mountain, of course.

Immense tunnel-boring machines drill the main tunnel tubes,

but for smaller sections, explosives are used.

Simon, what are these guys here doing?

So they are preparing the next explosion here.

How far forward will that take them?

Normally, we are making 1.7 metres every time we make an explosion,

but it could be that we make 2 metres or 1.3.

It's really depending on the rock.

That's an awful lot of bangs to build your tunnel.

This boring machine has two arms on each side,

and they're used to thrust forward this drill into the mountain

and into those boreholes the explosive will be placed,

and following the explosion, with luck,

we'll be 1.7 metres nearer to our destination.

Travellers on the Brenner Railway above have no idea that beneath them

there's an explosion every three to six hours.

HE SHOUTS

The Brenner Base Tunnel should open in 2026,

revolutionising trade and travel throughout Europe.

The project's ambition and complexity

underline the achievement of those 19th-century engineers

on whose success we've relied for more than 100 years.

On my journey through many tunnels, I've seen how brilliant were the

Italian railway-builders of the 19th century.

Some Italians thought that a modern nation's prestige

required colonies too

and were lured into the First World War

by British promises of territorial gain.

Italy then fell victim to the extreme nationalism

of Mussolini's fascists and to defeat in World War II.

It has emerged from that darkness into true modernity and, today,

once more, expresses its ambition and its internationalism through

dramatic civil engineering.

'Next time, I take an invigorating dip in the Baltic Sea...'

Absolutely FREEZING!

'..I'm caught up in a macabre medieval tournament...'

It seems to be very brutal.

They're using their shields to strike each other's throats.

'..the bell tolls for me...'

BELL CLANGS

That's an enormous noise.

'..and I find peace on the water.'

A completely different and special moment.