Mazzoni’s Messina Centrale, inaugurated in 1939, was a monumental gateway to Sicily, built where the ferries from the mainland meet the rails — among the last of his great stations before the war.
At a glance
Messina Centrale, designed by Angiolo Mazzoni and built between 1937 and 1939, is the railway gateway to Sicily, set beside the harbour where train ferries cross the strait from the mainland. It is one of Mazzoni’s last and most monumental stations, completed on the eve of the Second World War.
Key facts
- Built: 1937–1939, inaugurated 28 October 1939
- Architect: Angiolo Mazzoni
- Style: Rationalist, monumental in scale
- Setting: beside the harbour and the train-ferry terminal
- Status: Sicily’s principal railway gateway
History
Angiolo Mazzoni (Bologna 1894 – Rome 1979) was the chief architect-engineer of the Italian State Railways between the wars, designer of dozens of stations and post offices; in 1933 he joined the Futurist movement.
Messina, rebuilt after the catastrophic earthquake of 1908, received its Mazzoni station, built between 1937 and 1939 and inaugurated on 28 October 1939. Its position is unusual: the trains arrive beside the harbour, where ferries carry whole carriages across the Strait of Messina to and from Calabria.
The station remains the main rail gateway to Sicily.
What you see
A long monumental front facing the harbour, its massing and detailing in Mazzoni’s grand inter-war manner. The link between rail and sea — the train ferries — is part of the station’s identity.
The building has been altered over the decades but keeps its monumental scale.
Practical information
- A working station beside the harbour and ferry terminal
- The monumental harbour front is the architecture
- Walking distance from the centre of Messina
- Allow 15 minutes
Getting there
Messina Centrale is beside the harbour; train ferries connect it to Villa San Giovanni in Calabria. By car, the A20 and A18 motorways meet at Messina.
Nearby
- The Cathedral of Messina and its astronomical clock
- The Regional Museum (MuMe)
- The harbour and the Strait
Sources
- Angiolo Mazzoni — Treccani
- Fondazione FS Italiane
- Comune di Messina
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