Firenze Santa Maria Novella Railway Station
Dublin Core
Title
Firenze Santa Maria Novella Railway Station
Subject
The form of the Tuscan Group's Firenze Santa Maria Novella Railway Station
Description
The Firenze Santa Maria Novella Railway Station was constructed in 1934 by the Italian fascist government. It was designed by a group of architects known as the “Gruppo Tuscano” and was built under the constriction that it be the “most inconspicuous, the least offensive, and the least visible form possible” (Etlin, 308). The authorities wished that the station not distract from the monumental architecture of Florence but also point to the “idea of the train or mechanics” (Etlin, 308). What was being asked of architects, a building that is distinct and evocative but not distracting, was fulfilled by the futurist architects.
Their design, while it was accepted by the authorities, was unpopular with the Florentines. Critics derided it as “a large box” and might as well be mistaken for “two packing crates, just arrived on a flat car, which enclosed the real train station” (Etlin, 310). Eventually, the opinion turned, with many praising the station for the same aspects the critics attacked it. The station was praised for its near “invisibility” (Etlin, 310) and innovative design. The station, in line with Futurist ideals, “repudiated, with reason, all the decorative trinkets” (Etlin, 312) of other buildings. The building also sought to communicate a “sense of moving vectors” (Etlin, 310) through its low form, parallel lines, and raised stonework. The largest feature of the building, the “cascade of glass” (Etlin, 310) at the front of the station, also communicates movement as it “flows” (Etlin, 310) to the ground. The Firenze Santa Maria Novella Railway Station communicates Futurist ideals through its motion and rejection of traditional grandeur.
Etlin, Richard A. Modernism in Italian Architecture, 1890-1940. Cambridge, Mass., Mit Press, 1991.
Their design, while it was accepted by the authorities, was unpopular with the Florentines. Critics derided it as “a large box” and might as well be mistaken for “two packing crates, just arrived on a flat car, which enclosed the real train station” (Etlin, 310). Eventually, the opinion turned, with many praising the station for the same aspects the critics attacked it. The station was praised for its near “invisibility” (Etlin, 310) and innovative design. The station, in line with Futurist ideals, “repudiated, with reason, all the decorative trinkets” (Etlin, 312) of other buildings. The building also sought to communicate a “sense of moving vectors” (Etlin, 310) through its low form, parallel lines, and raised stonework. The largest feature of the building, the “cascade of glass” (Etlin, 310) at the front of the station, also communicates movement as it “flows” (Etlin, 310) to the ground. The Firenze Santa Maria Novella Railway Station communicates Futurist ideals through its motion and rejection of traditional grandeur.
Etlin, Richard A. Modernism in Italian Architecture, 1890-1940. Cambridge, Mass., Mit Press, 1991.
Creator
Italian Futurism, Tucker Bryant
Source
Hyde, Rory. “Gruppo Toscano - Firenze Santa Maria Novella Railway Station, Florence, 1932,” Flikr, 12 Aug. 2009, www.flickr.com/photos/roryrory/8254065759/. Accessed 30 Nov. 2021.
Publisher
Flikr
Date
1934
Format
PNG
Language
English
Type
Image
Still Image Item Type Metadata
Original Format
Photograph
Collection
Citation
Italian Futurism, Tucker Bryant, “Firenze Santa Maria Novella Railway Station,” ENGL 3460 -- Literature and Utopia, accessed September 19, 2024, https://mapping-nature.org/3460-fall2021/items/show/29.