The FS Italiane Foundation is opening the doors to the historic halls of some of Italy’s main railway stations, from July to December 2026.
Venues with great cultural appeal
Many public spaces of great architectural and artistic value, built between the late 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century, have recently undergone restoration and enhancement work. The initiative returns following strong interest from visitors, which has confirmed the cultural value of these venues and prompted the FS Italiane Foundation to reopen them once again.
Royal and presidential lounges and waiting rooms
The furnishings, decorations and works of art trace the evolution of railway architecture and the culture of travel, offering a significant insight into the country’s history. Royal and presidential lounges, as well as waiting rooms, once reserved for monarchs and heads of state, are now accessible through a programme of special openings, allowing visitors to rediscover a heritage that has hitherto been little known.
From Turin to Rome, Montecatini and Florence
From July to December, the tour takes in some of the most significant examples of Italy’s railway heritage beginning at the Sala Gonin at Turin Porta Nuova, designed in the nineteenth century as a waiting room for the House of Savoy and decorated with allegorical frescoes by Francesco Gonin, and continues to the Presidential Hall at Rome Ostiense with its monumental design and adorned with a statue of the Goddess Roma in Carrara marble. From the waiting room at Montecatini Terme station, built in the 1930s and divided into three distinct areas by class and with leather seating, mosaic cladding and curvilinear architectural lines, to the Palazzina Reale at Florence’s Santa Maria Novella station, a 1930s building with fine wooden flooring, marble cladding and artistic bas-reliefs.
The Arab-Norman and Art Nouveau station in Taormina
Then there us the waiting room at Taormina Station-Giardini di Naxos, an example of the Arab-Norman and Art Nouveau architectural styles, and the tour concludes with the Royal Hall at Monza, the sole surviving space from the original nineteenth-century railway complex, linked to the House of Savoy with neoclassical furnishings that bear witness to the city’s relationship with the royal family.
Advance booking is required
The opening dates are as follows: Sala Gonin at Turin Porta Nuova Station: 4–5 July; 11–12 July; 19–20 September. Sala Reale at Rome Ostiense Station: 18–19 July; 14–15 November. Palazzina Reale at Florence Santa Maria Novella Station: 25–26 July; 29–30 August; 26–27 September. The waiting room at Taormina–Giardini Naxos Station: 24–25 October; 5–6 September. The Royal Hall at Monza Station: 28–29 November; 19–20 December. Advance booking is required and can be made on the website www.vivaticket.it. For information regarding booking procedures and access for people with disabilities, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
