COMMENTS TO MY PAGE "ART POSTCARDS WITH A RAILWAY MOTIVE"

Milano Centrale 1864-1931

Milano Centrale (Milan Central Station) is one of Italy's most significant railway hubs.  The first central station in Milan was inaugurated in 1864, located at Piazza della Republica.  By the late 19th century, Milan had become an industrial and commercial hub, with railway connections expanding rapidly.The station struggled to accommodate the increasing traffic.  Milan hosted the International Exposition in 1906, which underscored the need for a more impressive and capable station to represent the city’s modernity and economic strength. Plans for a new station began to gain momentum, and construction began in 1913, but progress was slow due to World War I and post-war economic challenges. In the 1920s, under the Fascist regime, the station's design was revisited and updated to reflect authoritarian aesthetic preferred by Benito Mussolini’s government. The design shifted from its original Art Nouveau inspiration to a more monumental, eclectic style that included elements of Art Deco, culminating in the station's completion and opening in 1931. The period leading up to the opening of the new station highlights the transition from modest, functional railway facilities to an architectural symbol of Milan’s status as an industrial and cultural hub.

November 17th 2024

 

 
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.