L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 20 L'Italo-Americano U n d o u b t e d l y , this isn't the best moment to use public transports in Italy, but that doesn't mean we can't talk about it. When it comes to romantic tran- sport, fit for literature and movies, trains are king, but we Italians are attached to something else too, to our old street cars. Street cars were once common a bit everywhere in the country, but today are active only in a hand- f u l o f c i t i e s , i n c l u d i n g T u r i n , M i l a n , T r i e s t e , Rome, Florence, Naples, Palermo, Padova, Venezia, B e r g a m o a n d M e s s i n a . Many may wonder what's the big deal with trams, because "aren't they just a mix between a bus and a train, in the end?" Well, somehow that's true, they are: they travel on tracks j u s t l i k e t r a i n s a n d a r e moved by electricity, but t h e y d o l o o k l i k e b u s e s and operate in towns and cities just like them. B u t t h e t r a m i s s o m u c h m o r e t h a n a b u s , you know. In that, it's just like its bigger, more popu- lar cousin, the train: it's m o r e t h a n a w a y t o g o from A to B, it's part of the soul of a city, because i t s c l i n g i n g a n d p u f f i n g gives a different note to her voice; and it's also a precious accessory, and a pretty unique one at that, with its narrow, art-deco silhouette — still present, although not as elegant, even in very recent vehi- cles —- and orange color. In Turin, you couldn't even think of Via Po, Via Maria Vittoria or Piazza V i t t o r i o w i t h o u t s t r e e t cars and their cheerful sin- ging: they are like the river a n d t h e M o l e , l i k e t h e G r a n M a d r e a n d t h o s e beautiful hills and moun- tains that are, still today, the most royal of crowns for what has been the first capital of unified Italy. The first tram traveled the streets of Turin on the 2 n d o f D e c e m b e r 1 8 8 3 , but the first fully electric tramway line was inaugu- r a t e d o n t h e 1 s t o f M a y 1898: it was called linea dei viali, and it still exists today, even if we know it w i t h a d i f f e r e n t n a m e , linea 16. Indeed, the linea 16 is one of the most used and perhaps iconic in the city, because it runs throu- g h i t s c e n t e r , i n P i a z z a Vittorio and all the way d o w n t o t h e V a l e n t i n o , a l o n g s o m e o f t h e m o s t beautiful streets in town. Tramways in Turin have a l s o b e e n a s y m b o l o f e m a n c i p a t i o n : i n 1 9 1 5 , w h e n I t a l y e n t e r e d t h e F i r s t W o r l d W a r , t h e A T M , t h e c o m p a n y i n charge of part of the city's tramways system, found itself with a shortage of staff, as most men had to join the army. And so, in order to guarantee regular transports to the Turinese, ATM began hiring women, t o o , f o r p o s i t i o n s t h a t w e r e , u p t o t h e n , o n l y available to men. During the war, trams were also used to transport injured soldiers to the city's hospi- tals, joining into the war- effort of the country. Milan, today, is the city w i t h m o s t t r a m s , w i t h over 400. I am not fami- l i a r w i t h t h e t r a m s o f Milan, but if they are as charming and beautiful as those of Turin, then I'll like them, too. Just like T u r i n , M i l a n c o n s i d e r s streetcars part of its DNA. Milanese are attached to their trams and tourists love them, as well. If you are lucky, you may even travel on one of the many original, 100 year old cars, which ATM restored, and t h a t a r e s t i l l p e r f e c t l y f u n c t i o n i n g . N o t m a n y k n o w t h a t t h e o r i g i n a l street cars in Milan were horse-drawn and appea- red two years earlier than in Turin, in 1881. A n d w h a t a b o u t o u r capital? Well, today Rome has only 6 lines left, not much compared to the 17 of Milan and 10 of Turin. Tramways only run for 31 km (again, not much when compared with the 170 km of Milan and the 220 of Turin), but they were the first to be used, in 1845: here, just like in Milan, cars were drawn by hor- ses. P e r h a p s , o n e o f t h e m o s t c u r i o u s t r a m w a y s still active in Italy is the one joining Trieste's city centre to Villa Opicina, a small village of the Karst plateau, some 330 meters above sea level. The little t r a i n c l i m b s u p a 2 6 % incline slope to reach its destination, almost a km from departure. A similar, and just as picturesque, line is in Turin and joins the borgata Sassi to the f a m o u s B a s i l i c a o f Superga, at 662 meters above sea level, on top of a hill overlooking the city, with a magnificent view on FRANCESCA BEZZONE A street car in Turin (Photo: PHSTOCK/Dreamstime) The magic world of street cars, the most charming way to travel around the city Continued to page 24 LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE

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