Santa Maria Novella Station

Conveniently placed for Florence’s centre, Santa Maria Novella railway station is many travellers’ gateway to the city. It is a terminus with numerous services and interior spaces. Designed in 1932 by a team of professionals to replace the function of Florence’s first station, the Leopolda, it took three years to build. Standing directly opposite Santa Maria Novella church, it is a masterpiece of Italian Rationalism. The 1932 competition was won by the Gruppo Toscano, led by Giovanni Michelucci with Nello Baroni, Pier Niccolò Berardi, Italo Gamberini, Sarre Guarnieri and Leonardo Lusanna. The large covered concourse is clad in glass and steel, while the elegant ticket hall uses fine materials. Attention to detail included artworks from the outset by Ottone Rosai, Italo Griselli and Mario Romoli, and more recently Giampaolo Talani. Some historical background: On 9 November 1943, a train carrying 300 Jews left platform 16 for the Nazi extermination camp at Auschwitz. Of them, 107 were murdered immediately on arrival; most of the others died in the camp, and only fifteen returned. A monument was unveiled on platform 16 on 8 November 2019, alongside a marble plaque, in their memory. In the 1970s a shopping underpass was added from the station to the start of Via Panzani. Later additions included the large underground multistorey car park and, to the north, the bus terminus canopy designed in 1990 by Cristiano Toraldo di Francia and subsequently demolished. Outside, the station is strikingly restrained, continuing the city’s colours and materials without interruption. Its predominantly horizontal form was chosen to avoid competing with the bulk of Santa Maria Novella church.