Owner and operator: Arsenale, Orient Express
Interior design: Dimorestudio
Furnishings and lighting: custom made
Photo Credits: Mr.Tripper
Often on an exploratory vacation, the time spent traveling is as important as the destinations. In the itineraries made possible by the La Dolce Vita train, the means of transportation also counts. The first train under the Orient Express brand, inaugurated in Rome Ostiense at the beginning of April by Arsenale and Orient Express with the support of Fondazione FS Italiane and FS Treni Turistici Italiani of the FS Group, takes its guests to visit Montalcino, the medieval village, the vineyards, the wineries, and returns to Rome in two days. A slow journey, of just over 200 kilometers, through history, landscape, culture, and gastronomy that seeks a different dimension, and speed, for international luxury tourism, starting with life on board. The train, designed and built in Italy, has 31 cabins in its 12 carriages, including 12 deluxe cabins and 19 suites, for only 62 passengers, and of course, as in the classic imagery of cinema and literature, refined bar and restaurant carriages, where the themed menus are curated by the Michelin-starred chef Heinz Beck.
The interiors created based on a design by Dimorestudio reveal a well-reasoned layering of the inspiring themes: slow travel on railway routes, the manufacturing experience of Made in Italy, the masterfully creative legacy of the masters of Italian design from the 1960s, the balance between functionality and decoration, the homage to the Roman ‘Dolce Vita’ and to artists such as Capogrossi, Bonalumi and Castellani, the custom-designed lamps and personalized furnishings. And the refined work of selecting and combining precious materials, walnut wood and velvets, lacquered surfaces, brass details, alternating glossy and matte finishes, becomes part of a language of contemporary translation of the almost legendary environments of the Orient Express.
The original Z1 model carriages have been restored with great care and considerable resources by companies from Southern Italy specializing in railway processing and design, with work carried out between CPL in Brindisi and Omer in Carini, Palermo. With the six trains planned, operating only in Italy, and eight itineraries in 14 regions, the investors’ goal is to create the largest private fleet in the world that can offer travelers destinations not only in cities with high tourist traffic such as Venice, Rome, Palermo, but also in more select centers of attraction such as Monferrato, Portofino, Siena, Matera, Maratea, Taormina.
