Stazione SMN

I do like a good bit of fascist railway architecture! Not for any political reasons, although there are many who would argue that all architecture is a product of politics, but that they are so, so... Unlike Milan station which is explicitly fascist in every expression, there is only a slight hint of monumental sculpture on one side. Apparently the plan is symbolic, but then the significance of floor plans is rarely obvious to the casual visitor. Even the coyly named "Palace of Rituals" (Tbilisi's prime wedding venue), would not immediately reveal its uterine floor plan, if it had not so overtly drawn attention to it by making the structure appear as a giant cock and balls towering over the river bank. There are some apologists who claim that even the "fascio littorio" plan was more a result of the pre-existing track layouts than any intentional political statement. It was my arrival point on my first visit to Florence, back in the days when air travel was prohibitively expensive. On my third visit they had helpfully provided ticket machines, which had all somewhat unhelpfully crashed, leaving chaotic hordes of tourists trying to find anyone who would sell them a ticket prior to the imminent departure of their train.

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