Mazzoni set Siena’s station of 1936 below the medieval city in travertine and clean Rationalist lines — modern architecture kept deliberately low beneath the towers above.
At a glance
Siena’s railway station was built by Angiolo Mazzoni in 1936, in the valley below the historic city. Faced in travertine and composed in a sober Rationalist manner, it was designed to serve the city without competing with its medieval skyline — a careful piece of 1930s modernism in a sensitive setting.
Key facts
- Built: 1936
- Architect: Angiolo Mazzoni
- Style: Rationalist
- Material: travertine
- Status: a working station, below the historic city
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.
At Siena, in 1936, Mazzoni built a Rationalist station in the valley north of the walls. The travertine cladding ties the modern building to the local stone, and the low, horizontal composition keeps it subordinate to the city on its hills.
The station remains in use; an escalator system later linked it up towards the centre.
What you see
A long, low travertine front of clean Rationalist lines, without applied ornament. The building reads as a deliberate modern counterpoint to the medieval city above.
The setting, below Siena’s walls, is part of the design’s restraint.
Practical information
- A working station in the valley below Siena
- The travertine Rationalist front is the architecture
- Escalators and buses climb to the historic centre
- Allow 10 minutes
Getting there
Siena’s station lies north of the historic centre, in the valley; escalators and city buses climb to the Campo. By car, Siena is reached by the Florence–Siena dual carriageway (raccordo).
Nearby
- Piazza del Campo and the Duomo
- The Basilica of San Domenico
- The Medici Fortress
Sources
- Angiolo Mazzoni — Treccani
- Fondazione FS Italiane
- Comune di Siena
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