TAV

Riot police stand guard as demonstrators march during a protest against the construction of a high-speed train line, known as TAV, which will link Turin in northern Italy to Lyon in France, near Chiomonte, north of Turin October 23, 2011.

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Stacy Meichtry/The Wall Street Journal Gigi Richetto, left; Paolo Perotto. center; Mario Cavargna, right, and other No TAV members joined hands in prayer around a stone altar they built near the railway construction site.

Italy's Tunnel Trouble 2011

"It has become a kind of holy war," says Gemma Amprino , mayor of Susa, an Alpine town just across the border from France that would host a TAV station if the project is ever completed.

Protesters Make Italian Rail Project the Little Engine That Couldn't Stacy Meichtry 2011

Over the past several weeks, hundreds of No TAV protesters have laid nightly siege to a new construction site dubbed "the little fortress," pounding on its gates into the early hours of the morning.

Protesters Make Italian Rail Project the Little Engine That Couldn't Stacy Meichtry 2011

With street protests, legal actions and even some violent skirmishes, a thousands-strong group of villagers, lawyers and environmentalists has delayed the Treno Alta Velocita rail project, or TAV, as it's known here, for two decades.

Protesters Make Italian Rail Project the Little Engine That Couldn't Stacy Meichtry 2011

In 2006, hundreds of No TAV members peacefully marched on Rome, streaming past the ancient ruins of the Roman Forum and hanging a "No TAV" banner from a statue of Julius Caesar.

Protesters Make Italian Rail Project the Little Engine That Couldn't Stacy Meichtry 2011

More photos and interactive graphics But TAV protestors say they have plenty of reasons not to want a high-speed rail track in their backyard.

Protesters Make Italian Rail Project the Little Engine That Couldn't Stacy Meichtry 2011

Stacy Meichtry/The Wall Street Journal Plans for the Treno Alta Velocita rail project, or TAV, call for a station to be built here in the Italian Alpine town of Susa, where the flag of the No TAV group opposing the project is a common sight.

Italy's Tunnel Trouble 2011

Italy's Tunnel Trouble Stacy Meichtry/The Wall Street Journal Plans for the Treno Alta Velocita rail project, or TAV, call for a station to be built here in the Italian Alpine town of Susa, where the flag of the No TAV group opposing the project is a common sight.

Protesters Make Italian Rail Project the Little Engine That Couldn't Stacy Meichtry 2011

In late June, police raided a No TAV camp and cleared out hundreds of protesters, including Mr. Fracchia's wife, to make room for the first site of drilling.

Protesters Make Italian Rail Project the Little Engine That Couldn't Stacy Meichtry 2011