FROM RAILS TO TRAILS on deserted railway tracks
cycling and walking itineraries around Italy
Once upon a time there was the railway, a means of transport that changed people’s lives, their habits and their whole world. But where there was once a railway that no longer exists – put out of business by automobiles or high- speed trains – we are left with old lines that have become part of our history and our cultural heritage, and are often uncontaminated areas that take us back in time, whether it be on foot or on a bicycle. The author Ornella d’Alessio, who is a tireless traveller, has chosen twenty old railways to be discovered, and never again forgotten.
THE AUTHOR | Ornella D’Alessio
grande viaggiatrice, scrive dal 1985. Prima di laurearsi ha cominciato a percorrere il globo dalle Svalbard all’Antartide, dall’Australia all’isola di Pasqua (Cile), trasformando la sua passione in un mestiere. Autrice di guide e di reportage dal mondo nel corso degli anni ha collaborato con le principali riviste di viaggi italiane e internazionali. Negli ultimi anni ha cambiato andatura e per scelta viaggia più lentamente con l’obiettivo di assaporare sempre di più la bellezza.
THE INTRODUTION | Ornella D’Alessio
Writing a book is always a bit of a challenge, to do so in the sum- mer of 2020 could have been a real gamble. But as it turned out I was not the only one who was working, even on the hot- test August days. Everyone was helpful and enthusiastic about the “From Rails to Trails” project, and I was excited as I set out along cycle paths valiantly carved out of abandoned railway land, some perfect, some only partly ready. A way to enjoy the environment, and to discover places from a different perspective which is also within the reach of couch potatoes who miss out on incredible experiences, not realising how easy it is today thanks to electric bicycles.
LA PREFACE | Umberto Rovaldi
Cycling or walking along an old deserted railway line that has been converted for exclusive cycle and pedestrian accessibility, is one of the most delightful and beautiful “active” travel experiences we can enjoy today. Discovering Italy’s most authentic, hidden and lesser known areas, that sometimes can be reached only by taking rediscovered trails and byways, or are sometimes accessible only along old pathways, corridors, or lines of gentle mobility, are priceless narrative threads that illustrate how we lived in times long past, in tiny local settlements and in networks of localities on a wider geographical and perceptive scale. (continue)
Disponibile anche in eBook.
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