Marking the 80th anniversary of its opening, Santa Maria Novella train station recently installed a permanent exhibit of archival photographs, mounted on old train schedules.
Titled ‘Santa Maria Novella: 80 Years as the Gateway to the City,’ the exhibit was curated by the Fondazione Giovanni Michelucci, named for the station’s head architect. The 100 images on display trace the construction phases in detail, shedding light on how the plans for the station evolved. Angiolo Mazzoni was originally slated to be the architect, but when his vision was met with controversy, the Ministry of Communications opened a national competition for the commission, which went to Il Gruppo Toscano, under architect Michelucci’s direction.
The installation is just one of several celebrations of the opening of the station, which is considered an icon of modernist architecture. Below the station, in the recently renovated shopping area, a smaller, temporary exhibition complements the permanent installation. Additional documents and photographs related to the station are also currently on display at the Biblioteca delle Oblate and the Biblioteca Nazionale, which opened on the same day as the station in 1935.
Adding further context to the photographs, on December 14, the station’s new neighbour, the Museo Novecento, will offer a guided tour highlighting the artworks that best represent the cultural and artistic context within which Michelucci’s team was working.
View more information on the station’s 80th anniversary celebrations via Architettura Toscana.
Images from the Archivio Fondazione Michelucci
