It is the gateway to the city and the second largest station in Italy, both in dimension and in the number of passengers in transit. The monumental white stone building adorned with bombastic sculptures can be seen from afar; it dominates Piazza Duca d’Aosta together with the Pirelli Skyscraper, affectionately named the "Pirellone" by the Milanese.

 

Galleria delle Carrozze

Galleria delle Carrozze is the impressive main entrance, a large covered area that provides the main access to the M2 and M3 subway lines. A modern commercial gallery in transparent glass houses temporary shops for some prestigious brands.

Galleria di Testa

As you approach the bustling Galleria di Testa public concourse, located at platform level, you will find the new ticket office and multilevel commercial spaces with a wide selection of products such as clothing, accessories, books and music alongside bars and restaurants catering for all tastes.

 

 

Platform 21 - Shoah Memorial, a place of remembrance

The word “Indifferenza” (Indifference) is written in large letters on the wall that welcomes visitors to the evocative Holocaust Memorial in the Central Station basement.

Platform 21 is infamous for the convoys of deportees departing for the Nazi concentration camps between 1943 and 1945. Hundreds of persons were loaded onto freight wagons that were then winched up to the overhead tracks and coupled onto the convoys bound for the concentration and extermination camps.

An internal pathway leads from the Sala delle Testimonianze to Platform 21 where an original convoy wagon stands on the site. A wall bears the names of those who were deported from here.

Padiglione Reale: the unexpected delights of an obscure place

The Royal Pavilion can be found halfway along platform 21, a place unknown to most of the passengers passing through Stazione Centrale.

Built for the King of Italy and his family in 1931, it is structured on two levels with the Arms room on the ground floor and the Royal waiting room on the upper floor.

The interiors are truly sumptuous with inlaid floors, corridors embellished with Empire-style marble and mosaics, elegant furniture and richly decorated bathrooms, inside of which a mirror conceals a secret passage as an emergency escape route for the royals.

Symbols of the fascist regime and its alliance with Nazism have been almost completely eliminated, although some traces are still visible such as the swastikas subtlety inserted into the wood flooring, seemingly placed in view of a potential visit by Adolf Hitler.

Mercato Centrale Milano

Located on the west side of the Central Station, the contemporary Mercato Centrale Milano is a vibrant meeting place for eating and shopping, open from 7am to midnight.

Visitors will be tempted by a wonderful range of food, from the most famous dishes of Florentine cuisine to Joe Bastianich's American barbecue. Open from 7 a.m to midnight, 364 days a year.

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