The Building
The station was designed by the Italian architect Roberto Narducci. In addition to being built in the architectural style favoured by Hitler, the design of the station's marble facade was almost identical to that of the Italian pavilion at the 1942 Rome World's Fair (a design never fully realised due to the Second World War). The station building was inaugurated on October 28, 1940.
The entire facade is made of Travertine marble and the entrance is marked by a pillared portico. On the right side of the station there is a relief by Francesco Nagni that represents the mythical figures of Bellerophon and Pegasus. On the left there is a fountain that was built in 1957. There is a mosaic on the floor made of black and white tiles that demonstrate various themes and legends of Rome's history.
Opposite the tracks, a new section was built to help Ostiense serve as a terminal station for passengers arriving from Leonardo da Vinci Airport during the 1990 World Cup, which accumulated a variety of commercial activities. However, following the decline in the number of passengers after the end of the World Cup, the new section was quickly abandoned and the various shops that were housed there began to close. In 2012, the building was converted to a new branch of Mario Batali's restaurant/maket chain Eataly.
Read more about this topic: Roma Ostiense Railway Station
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