Naples, 4 February 2025
A Chalcolithic-period village in Gaudello; a section of basol belonging to the ancient via Appia in the municipality of Maddaloni; a Hellenistic-Roman Age shrine, with important deposits of votive materials, in Ponte.
These are just some of the archaeological finds unveiled today at the Napoli Afragola station, uncovered during works on the Napoli-Cancello, Cancello-Frasso and Telese-Vitulano sections.
With the construction of the New HS/HC Naples-Bari line, the FS Group is giving an unprecedented cultural heritage back to citizens, within a framework where infrastructural development and archaeology coexist in harmony. This is the first stage of a journey that will continue throughout the Country, with the aim of showing how the construction sites of major railway infrastructure works can become a window on the past, combining progress and historical roots.
Among the findings unearthed and presented today, before some of FS Group representatives and the Superintendencies of Naples metropolitan areas and the provinces of Caserta and Benevento, include a Roman villa on display in its entirety, which has re-emerged in the municipality of Solopaca, and numerous burials from the Campanian culture with a wealth of funerary objects, as well as coins, terracotta objects and bronze statuettes.
Some of the attendees included Mariano Di Maio, RFI Environment and Territory Manager; Massimo Comedini, Italferr Environment, Architecture and Territory Manager; Mariano Nuzzo, Superintendent of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for Naples metropolitan area, and Deputy Director of the Abap Superintendency for the provinces of Caserta and Benevento; Ilaria Maggiorotti, Chairman of Archeolog Ente del Terzo Settore.
Through a proactive and collaborative approach, the FS Group is constantly engaged in the promotion of preventive archaeology, 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.
Protection actions include an in-depth study of the archaeological contexts, with completion of territorial studies, surveys and extended excavations, and enhancement of the findings through virtual reconstructions, publications, conferences and musealisation.
And the commitment of the FS Group and its companies does not stop there. Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, Italferr and Anas are members of Archeolog, a Third Sector Group organisation that, in synergy with the Superintendencies of the Ministry of Culture, contributes to the restoration, conservation and enhancement of valuable archaeological finds that come to light during the construction and maintenance of Italy's road and rail infrastructure.
THE NEW HS/HC NAPLES-BARI LINE
The project includes upgrading and speed-up of the Naples-Bari route, which will integrate the southern railway infrastructure with the 'Scandinavian - Mediterranean' Core Corridor.
The strategic work will improve accessibility in all areas crossed by national, long-distance, regional and freight services.
Upon completion of the works, the Naples-Bari connection will take 2 hours of travel, compared to the current 4 hours it takes, while the Rome-Bari connection will take 3 hours, saving almost two hours compared to today. The project, with a total cost of over EUR 6 billion, is also a driver for job creation: over 7,000 people between engineers, technicians and workers are engaged in the projec