Roma Termini

Roma Termini (in Italian, ''Stazione Termini'') is the main railway station of Rome, Italy. It is named after the district of the same name, which in turn took its name from ancient Baths of Diocletian (in Latin, ''thermae''), which lies across the street from the main entrance. It is Italy's busiest railway station and the fifth-busiest in Europe, with a traffic volume of approximately 150 million passengers per year, and with 850 trains in transit per day.

Overview

The station has regular train services to all major Italian cities, as well as daily international services to Munich, Geneva, and Vienna. 150 million passengers use Roma Termini each year and 850 trains run in and out of the station per day. With 32 platforms, Roma Termini is the joint largest railway station in Europe, tied with Paris' Gare du Nord and Munich's München Hbf.

Termini is also the main hub for public transports inside Rome. Two 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. However, the main tram lines of the city cross at Porta Maggiore, some east of the station.

On 23 December 2006, the station was dedicated to Pope John Paul II.

History

On 25 February 1863, Pope Pius IX opened the first, temporary Termini Station as the terminus of the Rome–Frascati, Rome–Civitavecchia and Rome-Ceprano lines.

The first two lines previously had separate stations elsewhere in the city, and, as the third line was under development, the city chose to build one central station, as opposed to the Paris model of having separate terminus stations for each line or each direction. The dilapidated Villa Montalto-Peretti, erected in the 16th century by Pope Sixtus V, was chosen as the site for this new station, which was to be called the "Stazione Centrale delle Ferrovie Romane" (Central Station of Roman Railways).

Construction of the permanent station began in 1868, in the last years of the Papal Temporal Power over the city of Rome, and was completed in 1874 after the Capture of Rome and installing of the government of United Italy. It was laid out according to a plan by the architect Salvatore Bianchi. The front of this station reached Via Cavour, which means it extended some deeper into the city than the current station.

In 1937, it was decided to replace the old station, as part of the planning for the 1942 World's Fair, which was never held because of the outbreak of World War II. The old station was demolished, and part of the new station was constructed, but in 1943, upon the collapse of the Italian fascist government, works were halted. The side structures of the design by Angiolo Mazzoni still form part of the present-day station.

The station building today

The current building was designed by the two teams selected through 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 linear lobby hall, a tall space of monumental dimensions. This great hall is fronted by full-height glass walls, and is covered by a concrete roof that consists of a flattened and segmented arch, a modernist version of a barrel vault from a Roman bath. The vault is structurally integrated with a cantilevered canopy that extends over the entrance drive. The result is a gravity-defying modernist structure that also recalls a similar achievement of Roman architecture. The back of the hall leads to a transition space of ticketing functions and shops before reaching the train shed, and is topped by an even longer building block that houses a 10-story hotel, clad with travertine.

Access to the platforms can be gained on the main level and also via a subterranean passageway reached by escalators, both routes currently endowed with additional security measures.

Architecturally, the building expresses the sense of arrival in Rome, and communicates a sense of the Eternal City as both modern and traditional, looking forward to the future as well as remembering its history. Its bold presence in the urban fabric expresses the diversity of the city's history, and speaks of the dramatic new scale of the modern industrial economy of Italy.

The anodized aluminium frieze panels set in sequence along the length of the glass wall are the work of Hungarian-Italian artist Amerigo Tot. The composition is said to relate to the theme of capturing the dynamics in sound and speed of a train.

Servian Walls

A length of the early 4th century BC Roman Servian Wall is preserved outside the station.

Interchanges

* Termini interchange station for Line B and Line A on the Rome Metro.
* Roma Laziali station on the Rome–Giardinetti railway.
* 5 – 14 (Tram Line) – H – 38 – 40 Express – 64 – 66 – 70 – 75 – 82 – 90 Express – 92 – 105 – 150F – 223 – 310 – 590 – 714 – 910 – nMA – nMB – nMB1 – n5 – n8 – n11 – n46 – n66 – n70 – n92 – n98 – n543 – n716 – C2 – C3

Train services

The services serving the station include the following (incomplete):

*High speed services (''Frecciarossa'') ''Turin – Milan – Bologna – Florence – Rome – Naples – Salerno''
*High speed services (''Italo'') ''Turin – Milan – Bologna – Florence – Rome – Naples – Salerno''
*High speed services (''Frecciarossa'') ''Venice – Padua – Bologna – Florence – Rome – Naples – Salerno''
*High speed services (''Italo'') ''Venice – Padua – Bologna – Florence – Rome''
*High speed services (''Frecciargento'') ''Trieste – Venice – Padua – Bologna – Florence – Rome''
*High speed services (''Frecciargento'') ''Venice – Padua – Bologna – Florence – Rome''
*High speed services (''Frecciargento'') ''Venice – Padua – Bologna – Florence – Rome – Fiumicino Airport''
*High speed services (''Frecciargento'') ''Udine – Treviso – Venice – Padua – Bologna – Florence – Rome''
*High speed services (''Frecciargento'') ''Bolzano/Bozen – Verona – Bologna – Florence – Rome''
*High speed services (''Frecciargento'') ''Brescia – Verona – Bologna – Florence – Rome''
*High speed services (''italo'') ''Brescia – Verona – Bologna – Florence – Rome'' – Naples
*High speed services (''Frecciargento'') ''Rome – Foggia – Bari – Brindisi – Lecce''
*High speed services (''Frecciargento'') ''Rome – Naples – Salerno – Lamezia Terme – Reggio di Calabria''
*High speed services (''Frecciabianca'') ''Turin – Genoa – La Spezia – Pisa – Livorno – Rome''
*High speed services (''Frecciabianca'') ''Milan – Genoa – La Spezia – Pisa – Florence – Rome''
*High speed services (''Frecciabianca'') ''Ravenna – Rimini – Foligno – Terni – Rome''
*High speed services (''Frecciabianca'') ''Rome – Naples – Salerno – Lamezia Terme – Reggio di Calabria''
*Intercity services ''Rome – Naples – Salerno – Lamezia Terme – Messina – Palermo / Siracusa''
*Intercity services ''Rome – Naples – Salerno – Lamezia Terme – Reggio di Calabria''
*Intercity services ''Rome – Naples – Salerno – Taranto''
*Intercity services ''Rome – Foggia – Bari (- Taranto)''
*Intercity services ''Ventimiglia – Genoa – La Spezia – Pisa – Livorno – Rome''
*Intercity services ''Turin – Genoa – La Spezia – Pisa – Livorno – Rome – Naples – Salerno''
*Intercity services ''Livorno – Civitavecchia – Rome – Naples''
*Intercity services ''Trieste – Venice – Padua – Bologna – Florence – Rome''
*Intercity services ''Ancona – Foligno – Terni – Rome''
*Intercity services ''Perugia – Foligno – Terni – Rome''
*Night train (''EuroNight'') ''Vienna – Klagenfurt – Villach – Venice – Bologna – Florence – Rome''
*Night train (''EuroNight'') ''Munich – Wörgl – Innsbruck – Verona – Bologna – Florence – Rome''
*Night train (''Intercity Notte'') ''Trieste – Udine – Treviso – Venice – Padua – Bologna – Rome''
*Night train (''Intercity Notte'') ''Bolzano/Bozen – Verona – Rome''
*Night train (''Intercity Notte'') ''Rome – Foggia – Bari – Brindisi – Lecce''
*Night train (''Intercity Notte'') ''Rome – Naples – Messina – Palermo / Siracusa''
*Regional services (''Leonardo Express'') ''Rome – Fiumicino Airport''
*Regional services (''Treno Regionale'') ''Rome – Pomezia – Latina – Formia – Minturno – Naples''
*Regional services (''Treno Regionale'') ''Rome – Pomezia – Nettuno''
*Regional services (''Treno Regionale'') ''Rome – Venafro – Roccaravindola''
*Regional services (''Treno Regionale'') ''Rome – Ciampino – Zagarolo – Collefero – Frosinone''
*Regional services (''Treno Regionale'') ''Rome – Ciampino – Albano Laziale''
*Regional services (''Treno Regionale'') ''Rome – Ciampino – Velletri''
*Regional services (''Treno Regionale'') ''Civitavecchia – Cerveteri – Rome''

In popular culture

*''Stazione Termini'' (1953)
*'' Indiscretion of an American Wife'' (1954)
*''Come September'' (1961)

See also

* History of rail transport in Italy
* List of railway stations in Lazio
* Rail transport in Italy
* Railway stations in Italy
* Roma Tiburtina railway station, the second-largest station in Rome
* Roma Ostiense railway station, the third-largest station in Rome

References

External links

Official page at Grandistazioni website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roma Termini Railway Station
Termini
Railway stations in Italy opened in 1862
Rome R. XV Esquilino
1862 establishments in the Papal States