Milan Central Station

Milano Centrale is one of the world’s largest railway stations. It fills the equivalent of nine city blocks. It was built to replace a previous terminus from 1912, when the architect Ulisse Stacchini was appointed. Construction was slow due to the First World War and it was finished in 1923. It is formed of symmetrical stone buildings on three sides of the platforms. There are five train sheds with glass and steel roofs, each 341 metres long, designed by Alberto Fava: the widest roof has a span of 73 metres. Passengers enter through a porte-cochère to a booking hall and then up grand stairs to the concourse. It mixes classical styles with Assyrian imagery. The monumental interior is made with marble and tiles. There is a rich iconography of bas reliefs, statues and inscriptions, showing eagles, winged horses and mythological figures alongside automobiles, ships and the names of famous technologists, including Fulton, Edison and Papin. During the Second World War Jewish citizens were deported from a secret platform under the station, where there is a Holocaust memorial.