The Montevergine funicular ( it, Funicolare di Montevergine) is a

funicular railway A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...

that connects the town of

Mercogliano Mercogliano is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy. Geography Mercogliano is a hill town located near the western suburb of Avellino and below the mount Partenio (or Montevergine). The municipality ...

with the mountain and catholic sanctuary of

Montevergine 250px, The Sanctuary of Montevergine. The Montevergine, also known as Partenio or Monti di Avella, is a limestone massif in Campania, central Italy, part of the Apennine chain. It is located near Avellino, in the ''comune'' of Mercogliano. It h ...

, in

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

History

The idea of linking the shrine of Montevergine with the centre of Mercogliano via a funicular railway originated in the nineteenth century, based on an idea of Abbot Guglielmo De Cesare. By 1882 a third of the construction work had already been achieved, but as a result of economic problems and the outbreak of the First World War the work was interrupted. It was not until 1926 that the work was restarted, under the direction of Abbot Ramiro Marcone, who founded a company to complete the line. In 1929 the company, the property of the monastic community, changed its name to the ''Società Immobiliare Irpina'', and obtained the concession to run the funicular for 50 years. The outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

stopped the work once again, and the system was only opened only in 1956 by Abbot Ludovico Anselmo Tranfaglia. In 1973, due to the ageing and deterioration of the line, the Ministry of Transport ordered the line to be closed for renovation, which lasted until the line reopened in 1981. In the meantime the 50 year concession had expired, and the line was purchased by the Region of Campania. The line reopened on 23 July 2012 after a general overhaul, but was again closed on the 13 October 2012, because of the need for unexpected maintenance and a lack the necessary funds, estimated at

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

1.5 million, to undertake it. After completion of track restoration and modernisation of the cars, the line reopened on 25 June 2016.

Operation

The line is operated by the Autoservizi Irpini, the regional bus operator, and has the following parameters: The line runs twice an hour on Sundays and public holidays, and every 45 minutes on other days. Service is provided between 09:00 and 17:00.

References

External links

*
Page on the funicular from the web site of Autoservizi Irpini
(in Italian)
{{coord, 40.923213, 14.74443, region:IT_type:landmark, display=title Funicular railways in Italy Province of Avellino Railway lines in Campania

History

Operation

See also

References

External links