About us

Fondazione FS Italiane

Fondazione FS Italiane looks after and manages the Italian State Railways’ vast historic heritage: founded on the 6th March 2013, it oversees a fleet of over 400 pieces of historic rolling stock, around 200 of which are in full working order. It also oversees the archives and libraries, both the Pietrarsa and the Trieste Campo Marzio Museums and the “Binari senza Tempo” project which has reopened tourist routes along what were once abandoned lines.

It is an ambitious project, made possible thanks to the involvement of FS Italiane (Italian State Railways) and its network and train operating companies, RFI and Trenitalia respectively, and also, from 2015 onwards, that of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Tourism in the role of “Institutional Partner”.

Fondazione FS strives to valorise and pass down the immense historic and technical heritage of the Italian railways to future generations, it represents an important passage in our national history. The Foundation’s aim is to bear witness to the important role of the train as a symbol of national development and unity, and also to reclaim a new form of rail travel through tourism to the benefit of local communities and areas.

A strong link with italian railway history

Since the early 1900s the train has played a fundamental role in Italian life: daily millions of people have travelled the length and breadth of the peninsular on trains which were symbols of progress, social status and modernization.

The train represents the Italian people’s shared past, a past which we have chosen to embody in our choice of logo. Nicknamed “the barrel” or “the TV set”, the logo was originally adopted by the State Railways between 1966 and 1982 and is instantly recognisable. Moreover, past and future are linked in the FS Group’s monogram, which is also the logo’s subscript symbolising how the past and technological experience lend a competitive advantage to the FS Italiane Group.

Our Headquarter: Villa Patrizi

Today

Our headquarters are situated in the Villa Patrizi complex in Rome, a prestigious and historic building which also houses the FS Italiane holding company and the Ministry for Infrastructure and Transport.

Known to Romans as “the Railway Building”, the complex has a number of wings. It is composed of two main adjoined edifices, the first of which comprises four pavilions (spread over a number of floors,) and linked around a central courtyard. while and the other, known as “the Pentagon”, has five. During the post-war period, another eight-storey annex was built to the back of the complex and more stories were added to the original two buildings, bringing them to the current seven.

From an architectural viewpoint, the central courtyard is of particular note and houses the so-called “Fish Fountain” which is surrounded by a four-sided, double arched portico which the Foundation’s offices overlook.

The rooms which house the Foundation, have been fully restored and furnished with pieces salvaged from regional offices across the country: the Archives and the Central Library are fittingly located here and preserve a unique collection of volumes on railway history and technical books, some dating back to the middle of XIX century. While our offices, happily rubbing shoulders with the past, are situated on the first floor.

And then...

The history of Villa Patrizi began in the 16^th century, when Sebastiano Cipriani, instructed by Cardinal Giovnni Battisti Patrizi, designed and built the Patrizi family villa between 1716 and 1726.

The original building however was almost completely destroyed in 1849 during clashes between the French and patriots defending the Roman Republic: Most of the building and all of the interiors were ravaged by fire. After its reconstruction in 1863 the family acquired the adjacent property, Villa Bolognetti, united the gardens and transformed the entire area.

In 1870 the house was at the centre of one of the capital’s most historic events: it was from this spot that the heroic Bersaglieri (Italian riflemen), entering in the city through the nearby Porta Pia, began the assault that would conquer Rome.

In 1907 Ferrovie dello Stato acquired the property and set up the newly created Italian State Railway company’s headquarters here, designed by the architect Pompeo Passerini.

A Foundation for the future of heritage trains

The FS Foundation’s story encompasses a number of components: its heritage trains, its historic lines and all of the men and women who are currently looking after and leading these “iron giants” into their new, future role.

The FS Foundation was established in 2013 following the express wishes of FS Italiane, Trenitalia and Rete Ferroviaria Italiana who had wanted to create a safe and structured future in which to safeguard the “family treasure”. Having spotted great potential in the salvaging of both old trains and tracks, they decided to dedicate both to tourism. This is at the origin of all the Foundation’s restoration projects, from the Pietrarsa Museum’s renovation to the Timeless Tracks project and from the revamping of the luxury EMUs the Harlequin and Settebello, to the cataloguing and digitalisation of the historic archives.

CONSULT THE STATUTE

Governing Body

On the 6^th of March 2013 the CEOs of FS Italiane, Trenitalia and RFI, as founding partners undersigned the Foundation’s deed of incorporation and statute. In December 2015 the Ministry for Cultural Activities and Tourism became an institutional partner. Prof. Liberio Andreatta (former CEO of Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi), Roberto Mannozzi (Head of Administration, Tax and Control -FS Italiane), Marco Caposciutti (Technical Director- Trenitalia), Vincenzo Macello (Head of Investments -RFI) are members of the Board of Directors.

Luigi Cantamessa holds the position of General Manager.

Luigi Cantamessa

General Manager

Luigi Cantamessa joined the FS Group in 2003. He graduated in Transport Engineering from the Politecnico di Milano University, he attained a Master’s degree in Infrastructure and Transport Management and Economics from the SDA-Bocconi School of Management in Milan.

As of 2013 Luigi Cantamessa is the General Manager of Fondazione FS. In 2016 he assumed the role of Head of the Organizational Structure "Railway Tourism" for the FS Italiane Group.

Logo

The logo captures the tradition and history of the Italian Railways. The symbol, nicknamed “the barrel” or “the TV set”, was the State Railways most recognisable and longest used logo. In the footprint, the monogram of the Group links the past and the future to symbolize how, in the current context, history and technical experience constitute a competitive benefit for the Italian State Railways Group.

The Statute

Article 1: Constitution and name

By design of the founding members referred to in the following Article 4, a non-profit foundation named "Fondazione FS Italiane" is established.

Article 2: Headquaters

The Foundation is based in Rome. The Foundation carries out its activities in Italy and in other countries where Italian State Railways Group is institutionally present. The Foundation, in order to guarantee the achievement of its goals, by resolution of the Board of Directors, may set up and disband offices, hospitality offices and other organizational structures in Italy and overseas.

Article 3: Aims and Activities

The Foundation, in view of the strong links between the history of Italian rail transport and the nation, is established within the FS Italiane Group in order to preserve, valorise and deliver intact a historical and technological legacy, a symbol of progress and tool towards Italian unity, for future generations.

Parts of this historical, technical and industrial heritage are:

historical trains built in the first half of the 1900s and still functioning today and which symbolize the evolution of rail transport in Italy, testifying to the goals and technical excellence achieved by our Railways in 100 years of experience and representing how generations of Italians travelled. The role of the historical rolling stock sector (managed directly by the Foundation or entrusted by agreement to other railway companies) is to promote both the concept of the "train" as a means of transport, and cultural, social and commercial events and initiatives, to the benefit of local communities and areas too;

-the non-operating historical trains and railway museums, such as Pietrarsa, are the living memory of the Italian Railways;

-the archives, libraries and vast legacy of photos and films, which constitute substantial and important data depositories on Italian history which draw an accurate portrait of Italian society, customs and changes, from 1905 onwards.

For the reasons expressed above, the aim of the Foundation is to safeguard and enhance the historical, technical and industrial heritage that the historical trains, archives, museums and collections of railway objects and relics represent nationally.

Article 4: Founding Members and Adherents

“1. The Founding Partners of the Foundation are:

- Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane S.p.A.

- Trenitalia S.p.A.

- Rete Ferroviaria Italiana - Società per Azioni.

2. The status of Institutional Partners of the Foundation is granted to those public administration bodies which, by virtue of their specific institutional mission, contribute to the growth and to the pursuit of the Foundation’s purposes by supporting the significant cultural and tourist-orientated initiatives that the Foundation promotes. The aforesaid status is acquired by those public administration bodies that request it and the same membership is finalized with a resolution of the Board of Directors.”.

Article 5: Assets

The Foundation's assets consist of those assets laid out in the deed of incorporation and in the statue, conferred by the Founders and/or assigned by the Adherents, and can be increased and added to by: any additional contributions from the Founders; yearly and non-yearly quotas from the Adherents; purchases of movable and immovable property; contributions and donations or gifts made by anyone with the express purpose of increasing the Foundation's assets; contributions from the European Union, the State and other local and national, foreign and international Bodies and Organizations, public and private; any annuities and proceeds deriving, respectively, from the Foundation’s assets or from belonging to the Assets or from carrying out ancillary, instrumental and related institutional activities and, therefore, from any net operating surpluses, if destined, by resolution of the Board of Directors, to increase the assets; any equity investments and interests held.