Termini

Termini railway station

Termini is the main railway station of Rome. Both current Rome Metro lines, A and B, intersect at Termini metro station, and a major bus station is located at Piazza dei Cinquecento, the square in front of the station.

Construction of the permanent station began in 1868, and was completed in 1874. Architect Salvatore Bianchi was in charge of the project. In 1937 it was decided to replace the old station, that was demolished, and part of the new station was constructed, but works were halted in 1943. The current building was designed by the two teams that won a competition in 1947: Leo Calini and Eugenio Montuori; Massimo Castellazzi, Vasco Fadigati, Achille Pintonello and Annibale Vitellozzi. It was inaugurated in 1950. The building is characterized by the extremely long, modernist façade in travertine and by the gravity-defying double curve of the cantilever roof in reinforced concrete.

The station has regular train services to all major Italian cities as well as daily international services to Paris, Munich, Genève and Basel. With its 29 platforms and over 150 million passengers each year, Termini station is one of the largest train stations in Europe.

On 23 December 2006, the station was dedicated to Pope John Paul II, more or less like Rome's main airport at Fiumicino is dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci.

Termini Station