Central Station, Piazza Duca d'Aosta, Milan: the grand staircase leading down to street level from the central concourse

NOTES: The competition for the construction of this new terminus to replace the old central station (1864) was won in 1912 by architect Ulisse Stacchini. Construction proceeded very slowly after World War I and the project kept changing and becoming more complex. Mussolini, on becoming Prime Minister, wanted the station to represent the power of the Fascist regime, hence its monumental proportions. The station was inaugurated in 1931.