From July to December, Fondazione FS reopens the historic rooms of Italian railway stations, where railway architecture becomes art, political narrative and a manifesto of style
Summer is, by definition, the season of movement. It is the time of year when railway stations fill with the murmur of travellers, the rolling of suitcases and eyes fixed on departure boards. And yet, within these temples of modernity and transit, there are corners where time seems to have stood still. Rooms conceived not for hurried passage, but for cultivated waiting, prestige and representation.
From July to December, thanks to a programme of special openings promoted by Fondazione FS Italiane, a selection of royal rooms, presidential lounges and historic waiting pavilions will once again be accessible to the public. This is not merely an exhibition of period furnishings, but a true journey through the evolution of Italian taste and architecture: from nineteenth-century opulence to the geometric rigour of Rationalism, and on to Mediterranean influences.
The Nineteenth Century and Theatrical Illusion: Turin and Monza
The itinerary begins in the north, where Italian railway history took its first, crucial steps. At Turin Porta Nuova, the Sala Gonin welcomes visitors with the power of optical illusion and the elegance of Savoy splendour. Designed in the second half of the nineteenth century as an exclusive waiting room for the royal family, it takes its name from Francesco Gonin. The Turin-born painter created an extraordinary cycle of allegorical frescoes here, dedicated to the four elements and the continents known at the time. Entering this space means leaving behind the noise of the tracks and stepping into a theatrical dimension, where painting converses with gilded stuccoes and furnishings that evoke the birth of national identity.
Not far away, in Monza, the Royal Room is the only surviving element of the station’s original nineteenth-century layout. Closely linked to the presence of the House of Savoy at the nearby Royal Villa, the room is a neoclassical jewel. Its furnishings, symmetries and decorations bear witness to an intimate and profound relationship between the Crown, the city and the surrounding territory, offering a glimpse of courtly life in an unexpected setting.
The Twentieth Century of Materials: Tuscan Rationalism
Moving towards central Italy, the architectural language changes radically, abandoning the decorative flourishes of the previous century in favour of pure lines and noble materials. The 1930s were a golden age for Italian railway architecture, and Tuscany preserves some of its finest examples.
At Florence Santa Maria Novella, the Palazzina Reale is an undisputed masterpiece. Designed to host the sovereign and his entourage, the building stands out for its skilful use of fine wooden flooring, rare marble cladding and artistic bas-reliefs celebrating Italian craftsmanship. Large glazed openings cut through the space, casting a clear, precise light that enhances the formal purity of the interiors.
A few kilometres further on, Montecatini Terme station reveals a gem by Angiolo Mazzoni, one of the most brilliant and controversial architects working for the Ministry of Communications at the time. The Mazzonian waiting room is a triumph of rational architecture applied to the idea of wellbeing and hospitality. Arranged into three distinct areas by class, it surprises visitors with its curving lines, celebrated leather seats and mosaic coverings that reflect the Tuscan summer light. Here, interior design becomes a total work of art — a Gesamtkunstwerk — in which even the door handles and window frames respond to a single, coherent geometric design.
Rome Ostiense and Monumental Marble
In Rome, railway architecture becomes monumental. The Presidential Room at Ostiense station welcomes visitors with a solemn and rigorous layout. Designed to receive the highest state authorities and international guests, the room has as its visual and emotional focal point the statue of the Goddess Roma in Carrara marble. White stone, imposing volumes and the severity of its lines enter into dialogue with the millennia-old history of the capital, offering an interpretation of travel that becomes institutional ritual and a celebration of geometric power.
The Southern Landing: The Eclecticism of Taormina-Giardini
The journey ends by the sea, in Sicily. The waiting room at Taormina-Giardini di Naxos station is perhaps the most poetic example in this initiative. Here, railway architecture sheds Savoy severity and Rationalist rigour to embrace a sunny, eclectic language. The interiors combine Arab-Norman motifs with delicate Liberty-style details, with decorations rich in references and quotations drawn directly from the local context and the island’s lush natural landscape. The walls and ceilings tell the story of a borderland and a place of welcome, where summer light filters through decorative details that transform waiting for a train into a fully immersive aesthetic experience.
Cover image: Montecatini © Angiolo Mazzoni
