History of rail transport in Italy 500, the latter capable of speed up to 300 km/h. Works on the high-speed lines continued, the Rome-Naples being opened in 2005. Other lines are under construction. In 2000 FS became a holding company which controls various companies, among which is Trenitalia, a limited society. The various services were divided into three different companies for long range (FS Divisione Passeggeri), local range (FS Regionale) and freight (FS Cargo), while numerous other sub-companies were also created. Property of the railroad was assigned to RFI (Rete Ferroviaria Italiana) from 2001 (an FS company as well). Today railways in Italy continue to experience
Italy in the Middle Ages the invasion of the South, part of a 12th-century Byzantine effort to regain the influence it had held on the peninsula during the reign of Justinian. In the 11th century, the Normans occupied the Lombard and Byzantine possessions in Southern Italy, ending the six century old presence of both powers in the peninsula. The independent city-states were also subdued. During the same century, the Normans also ended Muslim rule in Sicily. Norman rule in what had once been Byzantine territory naturally angered Byzantium, which in 1155 made a last attempt under the Emperor Manuel I Komnenos to reassert its authority