Stazione Fornello

Nestled among the woods of the Tuscan-Romagnolo Apennines, Fornello Station stands along the historic Faentina railway, between Borgo San Lorenzo and Marradi. Today, it appears as a forgotten place, almost suspended in time, but once it was a vital crossroads for the transportation of goods and people, as well as a strategic point during the Resistance. Fornello was not just a railway station: commuters, farmers, and railway workers passed through here, and the train represented the only connection between these isolated lands and the rest of the world. In particular, the station was closely linked to the mine above it, from which minerals were extracted to supply the metallurgical industry and, above all, to extract the stones for the construction of the Faentina line itself. On the hills overlooking the station, the remains of the old mine tell a story of hard work and sweat. Today, the buildings are crumbling and overrun by vegetation, and the carts, used to transport the extracted material, lie rusted as silent witnesses of an era of hard labor. The mine was one of the main economic activities in the area, and its workers traveled daily between the quarry and the station, where the ore was loaded onto freight trains bound for the industries. During World War II, the station and the mine became strategic locations for the partisan struggle. The Nazi-fascists closely monitored the railway for the transport of supplies, while the partisans organized sabotage and disruptive actions to hinder the enemy. The mine tunnels, with their hidden passages, offered shelter to the fighters, becoming a support point for the guerrilla warfare. With the decline of mining activity and the gradual reduction of railway traffic, Fornello Station fell into disuse, becoming a place forgotten by modernity. However, in recent years, it has been revived thanks to enhancement initiatives that have led it to be recognized as a "Place of the Heart" by FAI (Italian Environment Fund). This has shed light on a piece of history that was at risk of being lost. Today, Fornello is a place of memory and rediscovery, where the history of work in the mines, the role of the railway in the valley's development, and the partisan struggle for freedom intertwine. Walking among the tracks now overrun by vegetation and the remains of the mining carts, one can still perceive the echo of a past made of hard work, hope, and resistance. A journey to Fornello is not just a hike in the greenery of the Apennines, but a walk through history, among the traces of those who have lived, worked, and fought in these lands.

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