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Great Continental Railway Journeys

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Factual: Travel

Michael Portillo retraces the journeys from George Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Guide.

Michael Portillo travels on the great train routes of Europe, as he retraces the journeys featured in George Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide.

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Great Continental Railway Journeys: Series 5 - Reversions

Michael Portillo

Boundless Productions

Alison Kreps

Ben Rowland

Great Continental Railway Journeys: Series 5 - Reversions: Episode 6: Genoa to Brenner Pass Part 2

Episode 6

Episode 6: Genoa to Brenner Pass Part 2

Series 5 - Reversions

Genoa to Brenner Pass Part 2

BBC Two - Great Continental Railway Journeys, Series 5 - Reversions, Genoa to Brenner Pass Part 2

Michael Portillo takes a trip to the exquisite Teatro Regio opera.

Michael Portillo continues his journey. At La Spezia Michael discovers how Italy's imperial ambitions put her at the forefront of modern aerial warfare.

Michael Portillo uses his Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Guidebook to undertake the second leg of his journey through Italy from the Riviera to the Alps.

At La Spezia, an important Italian naval base, Michael discovers how Italy's imperial ambitions put her at the forefront of modern aerial warfare. Michael is piped aboard the frigate ITS Virginio Fasan to learn about naval technology today. Italy's most famous ingredients, parmesan cheese and parma ham go down well in Parma, as does a trip to the exquisite Teatro Regio opera, where the company is rehearsing work by the hero of Italian unification, Giuseppe Verdi.

Striking north on the fast train across the Po Valley, Michael heads towards the Alps. On the winding roads at Rovereto, he discovers how one of the world's best known carmakers sealed its international reputation by winning the 1913 Alpine Trial in a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost. To hear the story, Michael hitches a ride in the famous marque's most modern counterpart, a gleaming new convertible Dawn. To cap off his journey, Michael travels to the Austrian border and the famous Brenner Pass, mastered by the railways in the 19th century and the scene today of a groundbreaking engineering project to build one of the world's longest rail tunnels.

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Michael Portillo travels on the great train routes of Europe.

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Great Continental Railway Journeys

Series 5 - Reversions

Episode 6: Genoa to Brenner Pass Part 2

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