It is recorded that on founding the FCL (Ferrovia Calabro-Lucane) last century the directors invested in enough gorgeous uniforms, swords and trappings to last 200 years. The gauge is Italian colonial – 96 cm, about three feet – and the system is informal and a byword for unpunctuality. FCL lines once (photo) connected a dozen hill towns with the coast, besides operating the wonderfully picturesque route between Cosenza and Catanzaro. The most remarkable rail journey in Calabria, however, is between Paola and Cosenza. The 28-km trip, two thirds of it in tunnels, takes two hours. Little Train timetables: ferrovieappulolucane.it