The FS Foundation’s Architecture Archive, established following the foundation’s creation in 2013, preserves a significant collection of thousands of project drawings and hundreds of photographs documenting Italian railway buildings. The materials originate from the central offices of the State Railways’ Works and Construction Service, which operated from 1923 to 1986 and oversaw the design, construction, and maintenance of railway infrastructure throughout Italy.
Scope and Contents
The archive holds over 10,000 transparent sheets (lucidi) and graphic documentation spanning primarily from the 1930s through the 1970s. The collection encompasses project drawings for stations and railway buildings, as well as designs for industrial structures such as locomotive depots and maintenance facilities. The archive also includes typological drawings that served as standard design templates adopted by the State Railways. The materials are organized by architect and designer, including dedicated collections associated with Roberto Narducci, Angiolo Mazzoni, and Luigi Perilli. The Narducci collection was enriched in 2014 by materials donated by the architect’s son, Carlo Alberto Narducci.
Integration with Existing Collections
The Mazzoni collection provides significant supplementary material to documentation held at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Trento and Rovereto (Archive of the 1900s). These materials—study drawings and project proposals referenced in the architect’s correspondence—had remained housed at the General Management headquarters of the State Railways at Villa Patrizi. Other sections of the archive preserve the original organizational structure of the producing offices, such as the Architecture Group collection, alongside more recent projects catalogued during the 1970s and 1980s.
Use and Accessibility
The archive serves researchers, professionals, and State Railways technical personnel conducting historical inquiry and scientific study of Italian railway architecture and engineering.
Frequently asked questions
What date range do the drawings in the archive cover?
The most substantial portion of the archive contains approximately 8,000 drawings dated from the 1930s through the 1970s.
Who produced the original documents?
The materials came from the central offices of the State Railways’ Works and Construction Service, which operated from 1923 to 1986.
What types of buildings are documented?
The collection covers railway stations, railway buildings, locomotive depots, maintenance facilities, and other industrial structures, as well as typological drawings used as standard design templates by the State Railways.
