Roma Ostiense Railway Station - The Square

The Square

The square outside of the station was named Piazzale dei Partigiani during World War II. Now, the square's primary function is a bus terminal and parking facility. Before 1990, however, the piazza was embellished with a well-maintained garden and a now-nonfunctioning fountain that was built in the 1950s as part of the design of the station's architect Roberto Narducci. The fountain was inexplicably excluded from the modernization and renovations for the 1990 World Cup, even though the square was part of the ambitious "Cento Piazze" beautification project. The small palm gardens that surround the parking lot are today occupied by a number of homeless people, asylum seekers, and political refugees. Every Monday and Friday, the square is used by Red Cross volunteers to distribute food to the city's homeless population, despite protests from the area's residents who say that the site was arbitrarily selected by the organization.