Rome, 19 February 2026
The ceremony for the arrival of the “Treno del Ricordo” - a project promoted by the Minister for Sport and Youth, now in its 3rd edition - was held at the Ostiense Station. The Treno del Ricordo is a historical train provided by Fondazione FS Italiane together with the FS Group, which crosses Italy in 11 stages and retraces the journey made by Istrian, Fiuman and Dalmatian exiles in the post-war period, with a travelling exhibition set up inside it.
The event was attended by Valentino Valentini, Deputy Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Vincenzo Paldino, Councillor of the Emilia-Romagna Region, and Paolo Crescimbeni, Deputy Councillor of the Metropolitan City of Bologna.
The train will stop at Ostiense station – 5th stop on its route after Trieste, Pordenone, Bologna, Pescara and Aquila until the evening of Friday 20 February. The train can be visited this afternoon and tomorrow, between 1 pm and 7 pm and tomorrow between 9am and 7pm (last admission at 6:30 pm).
In the five train carriages, visitors will have the opportunity to learn about and explore the tragedy of the foibe and the exodus, through a multimedia pathway featuring information panels, archive images and original texts recited by a narrator. The exhibition also includes some of the exiles' household goods on display, preserved and cared for by the Regional Institute for Istrian-Fiuman-Dalmatian Culture in Warehouse 18 in Trieste. The fifth train carriage - a new addition of this 2026 edition - focuses on passing on the remembrance to younger generations. It was set up in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Merit, which provided a selection of projects by the students who took part in the national competition "Il Giorno del Ricordo", and with the Italian Youth Agency, which supported the "Il Viaggio del Ricordo" (The Journey of Remembrance) to symbolic venues of the Giulian-Dalmatian exodus.
The next stops of the Treno del Ricordo will be Latina (21 february), Salerno (22 february) and Reggio Calabria (24-25 february).The Train will then move on to Sicily, where it will stop in Palermo (26-27 February) and then conclude its journey in Syracuse (28 February-1 March). The inclusion of both Pordenone and L'Aquila in this itinerary - two “Italian Capitals of Culture”, L’Aquila for 2026 and Pordenone for 2027 - is especially significant. The “Treno del Ricordo” will mark a symbolic “handover” between the two cities, connecting their memories, identity and future.
The “Treno del Ricordo” is promoted by the Minister for Sport and Youth, Andrea Abodi. It was founded through the Struttura di missione per gli anniversari nazionali ed eventi sportivi nazionali e internazionali (Mission Structure for National Anniversaries and National and International Sporting Events), FS Italiane Group and Fondazione FS, in partnership with the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Education and Merit, the Ministry of University and Research, the Ministry of Culture, the Italian Youth Agency, Istituto Regionale per la Cultura Istriano-Fiumano-Dalmata, Rai Teche, Istituto Luce, Rai Cultura and Rai Storia. The “Treno dei Ricordi” is part of the memorial ceremonies planned by the Comitato di coordinamento per le celebrazioni del Giorno del Ricordo (Coordination Committee for Remembrance Day memorials), established by the Prime Minister’s Office.