Palermo, 10 June 2025
Himera, the largest Greek necropolis on Sicilian soil, was brought to light by the FS Group company, Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, with the support of Italferr, during the doubling works on the Fiumetorto-Ogliastrillo section, part of the Palermo-Messina railway line upgrade project.
The exhibition Himera dagli alti dirupi. Un viaggio nella necropoli svelata dal raddoppio ferroviario (Himera and its high cliffs. A journey through the necropolis unveiled by the railway track-doubling works) was inaugurated today at the Palermo Centrale station, in the presence of the Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, by the Sicily Region's Councillor for Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity, Francesco Paolo Scarpinato, the Councillor for Urban Planning and Strategic Territorial and Coastal Planning Municipality of Palermo, Maurizio Carta, RFI’s Chairwoman, Paola Firmi, Italferr CEO, Dario Lo Bosco, and RFI's Investment Director, Lucio Menta.
The exhibition - the brainchild of Archeolog ETS, an FS Group association, in collaboration with the Himera, Solunto and Iato Archaeological Park, highlights one of the largest archaeological excavations of the last thirty years in Italy. With this initiative, a broad public will get to enjoy free of charge the precious artefacts that came to light during the excavation campaign launched in 2008 by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana and concluded at the end of 2010, which was followed by a long scientific cataloguing and restoring the finds from the Himera necropolis, a strategic centre in ancient Sicily, founded in 648 BC by Greek colonists.
Until 10 November next, a selection of the more than 20,000 archaeological finds unearthed from the necropolis and handed over to the Superintendency of Cultural and Environmental Heritage of Palermo will be on display in the Sala Reale and the adjacent room at the Palermo Centrale station, both made available free of charge by GS Retail.
The Himera archaeological area affected by the new railway line has revealed a historical treasure trove, with the discovery of more than 9500 tombs in the western and necropolis. These funerary findings, with their variety of tombs and grave goods, provide a wealth of information for anybody studying the social, economic and demographic dynamics of the Greek colony.
The project reconciled the need for railway track-doubling with the preservation of the relics present, by moving the old railway track, which interfered with the remains of the ancient city, and adopting design solutions aimed at minimising the impact on the necropolis. The work ensured that the areas involved could be fully explored, and the artefacts preserved.
FS Group has given an unprecedented cultural heritage back to the citizens, fuelling a virtuous dialogue between modern infrastructure and the enhancement of historical roots. Indeed, the Group is constantly engaged in the adoption of preventive archaeology practices, to ensure that the construction of new railway lines takes is performed in a sustainable way, without compromising the historical heritage of any territories crossed.
With Archeolog, FS Group's Third-Sector body, connected to RFI, Italferr, Anas and Quadrilatero Marche and Umbria, in synergy with the Superintendencies of the Ministry of Culture, the FS Group contributes to the restoration, conservation and enhancement of valuable archaeological findings discovered during the construction and maintenance of Italian road and rail infrastructure.
FS Group in the Top 10 of the Diversity Brand Index, with an accessibility project for deaf people
In 2025, the FS Group was also present in the Top 10 Best Initiatives of the Diversity Brand Index, the only Italian research aimed at measuring the ability of brands to effectively develop a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility (DEIA) oriented culture. The ten initiatives, assessed by the Scientific Committee and the Security Check Committee and selected for their ability to concretely work on DEIA, with an impact also on consumers’ perception, were illustrated in Milan during the eighth edition of the 'Diversity Brand Summit - Initiatives that change the world'.
FS Group was awarded for Trenitalia's free video-interpreting service in Italian sign language (LIS) for deaf people, at the sales and service points of the main Italian railway stations. Trial for the accessibility project began in 2024 in Bologna Centrale, Firenze Santa Maria Novella, Genova Piazza Principe, Milano Centrale, Napoli Centrale and Roma Termini. By April 2025, the network had expanded to 23 stations, with the addition of Ancona, Aosta, Bari Centrale, Cagliari, Fiumicino Aeroporto, Foligno, Lamezia Terme, Palermo, Pescara, Potenza, Roma Ostiense, Roma San Pietro, Termoli, Torino Porta Nuova, Trento, Trieste and Venezia Santa Lucia.