Central station

Milan Central Railway Station is a primary railway station in Europe. A terminal train station, it was opened in 1931 to replace the old transit station (1864) as the traffic had increased tremendously after opening the Sempione Tunnel (1906).

Now the main transfer point for the Italian high-speed train system (TAV) as the Turin-Milan-Venice, Milan-Rome-Naples and Milan-Genoa lines converge there, the Station was built starting from 1913 (actually King Vittorio Emanuele III had laid the cornerstone on April 28, 1906 before a blueprint for the new station had even been chosen). Due to the economic crisis Italy was facing during WWI, the construction progressed very slowly and the project – originally rather simple – turned to an elaborate, majestic plan. This happened mainly because Benito Mussolini, Prime Minister at that time, required the station to show the power of the Fascist regime. Major changes included new platforms and large steel arches (designed by Alberto Fava), 341m long and covering 66,500m². The construction resumed at full capacity in 1925. On July 1, 1931 Milano Centrale was opened before Costanzo Ciano, then Minister of Communications. Major refurbishing works started in August 2005 by Grandi Stazioni, a company belonging to the Italian railway corporation, and ended in 2008. The station was designed by architect Ulisse Stacchini, whose design (based on Union Station in Washington, D.C.) was selected in 1912. With its 200m wide façade and 72m high vault, Milano Centrale was setting a new record at the time. The outstanding so-called "Galleria delle Carrozze" runs behind/in parallel to the façade. The station displays a mix of architectural styles, especially Liberty and Art Deco. Someone called it an Assyrian-Milanese style. Architect Aldo Rossi said it is “the most beautiful station in the world".