Funiculi, Funicula... Funiculars in Italy

Some think the world is made for fun and frolic, And so do I! And so do I!
Some think it well to be all melancholic, To pine and sigh; to pine and sigh;
But I, I love to spend my time in singing, Some joyous song, some joyous song,
To set the air with music bravely ringing Is far from wrong! Is far from wrong!
Harken, harken, music sounds a-far!
Harken, harken, with a happy heart!
Funiculì, funiculà, funiculì, funiculà!
Joy is everywhere, funiculì, funiculà!
Ah me! 'tis strange that some should take to sighing, And like it well! And like it well!
For me, I have not thought it worth the trying, So cannot tell! So cannot tell!
With laugh, with dance and song the day soon passes Full soon is gone, full soon is gone,
For mirth was made for joyous lads and lasses To call their own! To call their own!
Harken, harken, hark the soft guitar! Harken, harken, hark the soft guitar!
Funiculì, funiculà, funiculì, funiculà!
Hark the soft guitar, funiculì, funiculà!

These are the English words to Funiculì, Funiculà! And here is a video of Rodney Dangerfield's wonderful rendition of the song in the film Easy Money.

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Castellammare's Cable Car

But the original Neapolitan words are very different:
Neapolitan lyrics
Aissera, oje Nanniné, me ne sagliette,tu saje addó, tu saje addó
Addó 'stu core 'ngrato cchiù dispietto farme nun pò! Farme nun pò!
Addó lu fuoco coce, ma se fujete lassa sta! Te lassa sta!
E nun te corre appriesso, nun te strujesulo a guardà, sulo a guardà.
Jamme, jamme 'ncoppa, jamme jà, Jamme, jamme 'ncoppa, jamme jà,
funiculì, funiculà, funiculì, funiculà,
'ncoppa, jamme jà, funiculì, funiculà!
Se n'è sagliuta, oje né, se n'è sagliuta,la capa già! La capa già!
È gghiuta, po' è turnata, po' è venuta,sta sempe ccà! Sta sempe ccà!
La capa vota, vota, attuorno, attuorno,attuorno a tte! Attuorno a tte!
Stu core canta sempe nu taluorno: Sposamme, oje né! Sposamme, oje né!
English translation
I went up this evening, Nanetta Do you know where? Do you know where?
Where your hard heart can't reach With scornful wiles! With scornful wiles!
Where the fire burns, but if you run You can escape it! You can escape it!
It doesn't chase you nor destroy you Just by a look. Just by a look.
Come on, come on! To the top we'll go! Come on, come on! To the top we'll go!
Funiculi, funicula, funiculi, funicula!
To the top we'll go, funiculi, funicula!
It's climbed aloft, see, climbed aloft now,Right to the top! Right to the top!
It went, and turned, and came back down, And now it's stopped! And now it's stopped!
The top is turning round and round, Around yourself! Around yourself!
My heart sings that on such a day We should be wed! We should be wed!

The Song and Italy's Real World Funiculars

The song is about a man caught up in the volcano of love, while he and his love are taking a ride up to the top of Mount Vesuvius on a funicular... an inclined, gear driven rail car. As the funicular rises up, so does his courage to ask for her hand in marriage. There actually was a funicular that went to the top of Vesuvius and this song was written as a metaphor about the ups and downs of love and its volcanic nature. The funicular that went up to Mount Vesuvius in 1880 cable car was later destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 1944. Coincidentally, the song was written in nearby Castellammare di Stabia, itself a town which--while doesn't have a funicular--has a dramatic cable car  taking visitors up to the top of a mountain with breathtaking views of both the Bay or Naples and Mount Vesuvius.

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Bergamo, Città Bassa–Città Alta funicular

Porta Sant'Alessandro–San Vigilio funicular in Bergamo

A Funicular, also known as an inclined plane, is a cable railway system in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles moves up and down a steep slope on rails. Since they are connected to cables, in essence both the ascending and descending vehicles function as counterweights to one another. When I was a  kid growing up in Hudson County, New Jersey, there were the concrete track remains of a funicular that carried people  and horse drawn wagons from the river level in Hoboken up to the Jersey City cliffs. It always fascinated me when I heard stories from my Father about both people and horse-drawn wagons being lifted up the cliff by the cables. The unique thing about funiculars is their cars are built at the same sloping angle as the angled tracks. They are very cock-eyed looking trolleys indeed.

Funiculars are still in operation all around Italy and offer visitors to Italy unique views of the countryside, superb visits to the "alto" (high) parts of towns throughout the country. Some are in small towns, some go to the tops of mountains, while others simply are an everyday part of commuting from the low town to the higher: the alto. 

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Biella, Piazzo–Piano funicular in Northern Italy

The Como–Brunate funicular  is a funicular railway that connects the city of Como with the village of Brunate in Lombardy, Italy. The line has operated since 1894, and is used by both tourists and local residents.

Built in 1907, the funicular on Capri goes from the Port of Marina Grande to the Piazetta up in the city center. Departing from the port, the staggering sea view is crowned by surrounding hills. The Funicular winds its way up the mountain, pasts houses, vineyards and citrus groves and unforgettable panoramas, the blue of the sea and white cliffs.

The Catanzaro funicular in the city of Catanzaro, Calabria. It connects the upper part of the city, at Piazza Roma, with Catanzaro Sala via an intermediate stop at Piano Casa. The line carries some 580,000 passengers per year.  The current line opened in 1998, using the trackbed and tunnel of the funicular section of the former funicular that operated between 1910 and 1954.

The Certaldo Funicular is in the town of Certaldo, Tuscany and links Certaldo Basso (the low town) with  Certaldo Alto (the older, high town).  The funicular operates every 15 minutes and is a great way to see amazing views of the Tuscan countryside and have a lunch or dinner in the quaint old town at the top.

Genoa has two funiculars and a similar inclined railway which is not actually a funicular. The first is the Sant'Anna funicular connects the Piazza Portello, on the edge of the historic city centre, to the Corso Magenta. The second funicular is the Zecca–Righi. The third, the Principe–Granarolo rack railway is sometimes erroneously described as a funicular.

Principe–Granarolo rack railway, Genoa

Naples is unique in that is has the most funiculars in daily use in all of Italy. Opened in 1928, the Central Funicular of Naples is one of the most used funicular railways in the world, and carries over 10 million passengers per year. In the second half of the 19th century, the Vomero hill area of Naples began to expand. The steep incline of the hill made it difficult to get to. Construction soon began on both the Chiaia and Montesanto Funicular railways, the Chiaia being one of the oldest in the world. The Mergellina is the most recent (1931) funicular in Naples and also the least used. Each of Naples funiculars move millions of people up steep inclines, each well over 500 feet in altitude change from top to bottom.

Montesanto funicular, Naples

By the middle of the 1900s, a funicular was planned to link the shrine of Montevirgine (at the top of a 4000 foot mountain in Campagnia) with the town of Mercogliano far below. By 1882 a third of the work had been finished but the First World War interrupted the progress, and it wasn't until 1926 that the work continued. World War II caused another delay and after changing ownership and operational management, it wasn't reopened again until 1981. Today it's one of the most dramatic funiculars in Italy due to the incredible views and the awaiting peace of the Sanctuary of Montevirgine at the top. In winter the snow covered mountain vistas aren't to be missed. This is truly a world class funicular with 5,476 ft of track that takes you up 2,408 ft from the station below to the Sanctuary. 

Como-Brunate funicular

The view from the Capri funicular

Catanzaro Funicular

Certaldo funicular

Sant'Anna, Genoa

Zecca–Righi, Genoa

Central Funicular, Naples

Interior of a Chiaia funicular car

Mergellina Funicular in 1931 with Vesuvius across the Bay of Naples

Montevirgine's steep climb

Sanctuary of Montevirgine

Sanctuary of Montevirgine and funicular

Montecatini Terme's vintage red funicular

The funicular at Montecatini Terme looks like a quaint red vintage trolley... one of my favorites of all the funicular I discovered in my research. In 1897 the excavation and construction of viaducts, bridges and track were built. Inhabitants of Montecatini were finally to be connected to their Castle high above the main part of town.

The Montenero Funicular in Livorno was inaugurated in 1908 and was the first electric railway of its kind in Italy.  There are two trains running up and down the track, each one capable of carrying 40 passengers. One of the most interesting and innovative aspects of Montenero's funicular railway is that it runs on solar power, the panels having been installed in 2000.

Of course, one of the most famous funiculars is no more... the Mount Vesuvius Funicular. Built in 1880, the original funicular was only 2 miles long kilometer long, but by 1903 had grown to 18 miles, including a connecting railway from Naples to the base of the funicular itself. This is thanks to railroad magnate, Thomas Cook who bought the funicular and rebuilt and improved it, while facing violent obstruction from the horse and carriage trade unions who feared competition of their own clientèle they carried to the top of Vesuvius. They cut cables, destroyed funicular cars and caused all sorts of other mischief. There were two cars at the turn of the century, the Aetna and the Vesuvio, each carrying up to 15 passengers. In the end, the Vesuvius Funicular lasted until Mother Nature herself doomed it--by another eruption from Vesuvius in 1944.

Montecatani funicular car

Montenero Funicular

Vintage Vesuvius Funicular post card

The Vesuvio on the way up to the top

So, there you have it... a little tour of Italy's funiculars. Perhaps you will search out a funicular when you travel to Italy and enjoy a ride on one or two. Enjoy the view, but more important, your feet will thank you for finding a way around all those steps in the hill towns of Italy...

--Jerry Finzi

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