The National Railway Museum of Pietrarsa is among the major railway museums in the world. It is housed in the evocative pavilions of the former “Reale Opificio Meccanico, Pirotecnico e per le Locomotive”, founded in 1840 at the command of Ferdinand II of Bourbon to free the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies from English and French technical supremacy. The Pietrarsa workshops were constructed in correspondence with the Naples-Portici line, the first Italian railway line inaugurated on 3 October 1839.

The Pietrarsa museum allows you to embark on a fascinating journey through time among the locomotives and trains that have united Italy during the course of 180 years. Lying between the sea and Mount Vesuvius, with a spectacular view of the Gulf of Naples, the site is unique in Italy both for the richness of the materials preserved and for its charm. It covers an area of 36,000 square metres, and showcases over 55 pieces of heritage rolling stock, including the faithful reproduction of the Bayard - the inaugural train of the first Naples-Portici railway line - and carriage 10 of the Royal Train built by Fiat in 1929 for the wedding of Umberto II of Savoy to Maria Josè of Belgium.