Milan Central Train Station
The Milano Centrale is the main railway station of the city of Milan, in Northern Italy, as well as one of the main European Railway stations. Inaugurated in the 1930s, it features 24 tracks and connects to high speed lines to Bologna and Turin, as well as conventional lines to Bologna, Turin, Genoa, Venice, and other cities.
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The Milano Centrale was built to replace the old 18th century station, under commission of King Vittorio Emmanuel III, by plans of architect Ulisse Stachhini. The layout was inspired by the Union Station in Washington DC, but it kept developing in complexity and majesty, partly due to the ascension of Benito Mussolini, who intended the station to become an effigy of the fascist power. This is reflected by the symmetry of the central volume and flanking wings, creating a 200 meter wide and heavily decorated facade with a vault 72 meter high, as well as by the capitel pilasters with crown motifs and the strong facade entablement with statues of winged horses.
Motifs of scrolls and medallions decorate the interior.
Innovations were the new platforms and the vast steel canopies by Italian engineer Alberto Fava, which encompass the platforms in a grandiose yet beautiful and graceful barrel vault of steel and glass.
The building cannot be assigned to any particular architectural style, but represents a blend of many influences, among them Neo-Classicism, Liberty or Art Nouveau and Art Deco. The term "Assiro-Milanese" is also used in regard of the portal of the building, presumably due to the classic columns, the architrave motifs and lion head bas-reliefs. Nevertheless, this indefinite mixture of influences renders Milano Centrale one of the most beautiful European train stations.
