L'architettura del viaggio: le stazioni per l'alta velocità di Torino, Firenze e Roma

The recent launching in Italy of a number of large scale urban operations centered around High Speed Railway (HSR) stations has added a wealth of examples and themes to the overall European picture; these go to make up a global point of reference for other countries that are, in this period, undertaking the construction of their own HSR networks. Above and beyond the territorial questions often linked to the issue, further research investigating the architectural aspect of these operations would be highly relevant, but is rather lacking. Instead, we shall be focusing on current HSR stations in Italy, such as Turin Porta Susa, Florence Belfiore and Rome Tiburtina, and comparing them briefly, where necessary, with European case-studies, whilst directing our attention towards certain aspects that still need to be examined. Replacing these contemporary HSR stations within an architectural framework raises a major question at the district level, about the relationship of these huge complexes and the ancient urban fabric and about their new role as urban mediators, also in terms of density and morphology. Finally, addressing specific factors in the design process, this essay aims to describe and illustrate the peculiar features through which HSR infrastructure today manages to transform itself from the urban separator that it was during the last century into an urban connector.