Italy’s New ‘Dolce Vita’ Luxury Sleeper Trains To Elevate Rail Travel

One of Europe’s most historically influential, culturally rich and visually stunning countries, Italy’s touristic appeal cannot be overstated. It’s a land filled with so many and varied visitor draws that it’s virtually impossible to plan an itinerary that includes everything you want to see.

But, you might be tempted to try, given the robustness of Italy’s railway system, which is already used by many day-trippers as an efficient and reliable means of connecting from point to point.

Now, Trenitalia (a subsidiary of the government-owned railway company Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane) has partnered with the luxury hospitality specialists at Arsenale SpA to create the forthcoming “Treno della Dolce Vita’, which will be just as much about the onboard experience as transportation.

The new sleeper train will and will offer 10 different one- to three-day itineraries that travel through some of Italy’s most celebrated landscapes, covering 10,000 miles of tracks from north to south. With routes that extend into 14 of the country’s 20 regions, it will ultimately reach 128 cities.

The goal is to offer a plush, glamorous onboard experience, similar to Belmond’s iconic Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, which celebrates and recreates the bygone Golden Age of rail travel. The project aims to capture post-pandemic demand for slower travel and travelers’ desire to see lesser-visited places.

According to CNN Travel, CEO of Arsenale SpA, Paolo Barletta, said: “Tourism doesn’t just mean hotels and restaurants. Italy is a 360-degree experience and we need to start again from that experience to make a complete offering.” He also attested that the train would transport tourists to “lesser-known places” on “new itineraries”.

When the Dolce Vita Train is introduced, passengers will sleep, dine and enjoy live entertainment in historic train carriages that feature luxury, retro-style interiors invoking the feeling of ‘La Dolce Vita’ (the sweet life), an idea brought to life by Federico Fellini’s famous film of the same name from the 1960s. There’ll also be a lounge bar car and a concierge service to assist with arrangements at the destinations.

The train’s new incarnation also pays homage to the ‘60s particular upscale living aesthetic, with retro-era fittings and furnishings supplied by some of Italy’s most acclaimed designers, including Gio Ponti, Carlo Scarpa and Piero Fornasetti, and throwback artwork to match.

Each train will connect 11 carriages train that can collectively accommodate only 64 people in 32 cabins—12 deluxe cabins and 20 suites.

While the Dolce Vita Train isn’t scheduled to launch until 2023, the project’s announcement was accompanied by a trial journey that ran from Rome to Civitavecchia, catered by celebrity chef Carlo Cracco, aboard a vintage train that was outfitted just for the occasion.