The history of the State Railways must date back to 1839, in the then reign of the two Sicilies, when the line connecting the two royal residences of Naples and Portici (Naples) was inaugurated. The monarchs of the other Italian states did not want to be outdone and so were built, for the exclusive service of the royals, other railway sections in the Lombard-Veneto State, in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, in Piedmont, in the Papal State. In 1860, on the eve of national unification, the railway network was about two thousand kilometers. In 1905 the state company was established with the nationalization of the three then existing private railway networks; in 1924 it merged into the Ministry of Communications to become, then, in 1944 a general directorate of the Ministry of Transport.
The first logo of 1907 was made up of the letters “FS” intertwined so as to reflect the Art Nouveau style of the time. Several were, in the absence of binding rules, the reproductions as a kind of frieze on pocket watches, on hats and on the fabrics of the curtains.
In 1920 the logo appeared with the ferrata wheel and wings; in 1922 the intertwining of the letters became more linear and, in 1929, it presented the relief effect. In 1930 the wings with the monogram formed by the two letters were re-proposed. With the Republic in 1946 the winged wheel replaced the royal crown on the friezes of the staff uniforms and the logo was also transformed.
Starting from 1961 on the nose of the locomotives appeared different logos; most had, in addition to the letters, lines to symbolize the wings, the movement. At the end of the 1960s, an oval logo appeared with the two angled letters.
In 1971 the logo was modernized by framing itself in a reassuring and familiar “television screen”. Then, it became more dynamic: the oblique “almond” that enclosed it, suggested the idea of movement; this logo was designed in 1983 by the internal graphic designers of the Florence department.
In 1992 the organization became a joint stock company: the change of the logo was inevitable. We wanted to create a more professional and less artisanal, more entrepreneurial and less state-owned image around the company. The new graphic sign, designed in 1995 by Xmpr International of London, is defined by an inclined rhombus which unconsciously recalls the previous FS initials but is presented in a more positive and dynamic way. Within this rhombus there are two distinctive elements: the horizon and the trace. The intersection of these two elements creates a representation of the letter “F” as a reference to the first part of the institutional acronym while the right side of the element creates the negative shape of the “S” that completes the acronym. The colors of the new brand are green, a symbol of responsibility, reliability, competence and balance; blue, a symbol of professionalism, efficiency and commitment; blue, a symbol of transparency and honesty of the organization.
In 2000 Area Strategic made some changes, in relation to a reformulation of the entire visual identity: the rounding of the blue element at the top left and the reduction of the inclination.
In 2007 the Ferrovie dello Stato, through their website, announced the will to adopt a new logo, and asked online visitors to participate in a survey, where they were asked to choose which was the most appreciated logo in the history of railways: the chosen one turned out to be the last one in 2000 and so, in 2008, the internal communication group FS presented the new project to the public: in the symbol the letter S was made more curved and accentuated while the pre-existing green, together with the replacement of the red instead of blue and light blue, it guarantees the right perception of our tricolor. In addition, after an extraordinary assembly of the FS group, in 2011 the adjective “Italiane” was added to the original company name, also visible in the logo.
