Central Milano

Milano Centrale is the name of the central Gare of Milan, which is one of the principal stations of Europe. It is a terminal which was inaugurated officially in 1931 to replace the old central station going back to 1864, which was a station of transit and the new traffic generated by the opening of the Tunnel of the Simplon in 1906 could not support any more.

The king Victor Emmanuel III posed the first stone of the new station the April 28th 1906, before even as a project is selected. The last contest for its construction was gained in 1912 by the architect Ulisse Stacchini, whose project took as a starting point the station Union Station of Washington DC. The construction of the new station began the same year.

Because of economic crisis in Italy, during the First World War, construction advanced slowly, and the project, rather simple at the beginning, changed continuously to become increasingly more complex and majestic. It was in particular the case when Benito Mussolini became Prime Minister, because he wanted that the station represents the power of the fascistic mode.

The principal modifications were the new drawing of the railway quays and the introduction of the large arches in Acier, work of Alberto Fava; long, they 341 meters cover a surface of: 66500 m ².

Construction began again with full mode in 1925 and on July 1st 1931 the station was inaugurated officially in the presence of the Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano.

The frontage makes 200 meters broad and the vault 72 meters in height, a record at the time of its construction. It has 24 quays. Each day, approximately: 320000 travellers forward in this station, for an annual total of 120 million.

The station does not have architectural style defined well, but is rather a mixture of various styles, in particular Liberty and Art déco, but not only.

It is sometimes described like one of the most beautiful stations of the world, with the Grand Final Exchange of New York.

External bonds

railway stations and metropolitan of Milan

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