ENJOY THE STATION -Taomina
Travelling home from Malta by ferry and train through Sicily, I chose to stop off at Taormina-Guardini simply to enjoy the station. In setting and architecture it is arguably the finest in Southern Europe. Approached from the South (from Catania) it springs out after a short tunnel. Approached from the North (Messina), the headland of Taormina first comes into sight, then again after a tunnel the line curves steeply down the cornice, displaying the station with an immediate backdrop of cactus covered cliffs and with the might of Etna, snow topped and smoke plumed behind.
The finest treasures of the station are inside the building, designed by architect Ernesto Basile (1857-1932), who had developed an especially Sicilian
version of Art Nouveau.
The ticket hall is not very large but unique. Three ticket booths are defended by high arched elaborate black ironwork grills. In the centre of a pleasantly patterned stone floor stands a large glass case containing an antique vase and Greek and Roman stone fragments. It is however the ceiling which is extraordinary: superbly painted wood panels and beams present Sicilian coats of arms and brightly coloured fantastical mythical beasts. Gryphons and Unicorns compete with Phoenix and weirder birds, snakes and canines.
Perhaps even better is the First Class Waiting Room, which can be glimpsed through the reflection of a glass panelled door. Its leather seats are focussed around a fine looking ceramic jar but the gloom is too deep to see much of the tiled floor or to see a painted ceiling at all. All might be revealed after 10am, when the ticket office deigns to open for business, but by then the trains to and from Rome, Naples and the North have all departed.
Outside the station sits between the sea and lava cliff, capped by Taormina village. When the trains have gone, the quietness is intensified by the sound of waves breaking close by. Orange trees, palms and potted prickly pear plants set off the faded dark green railway paraphernalia – water hose derricks for long past steam engines, delicate pillared platform canopies around a castellated gothic and Norman Romanesque station building with mosaic name boards. The outside of this building is ill-served by standard Italian railway signing and bland magenta plaster wash, while jarring modern light standards and cable posts further detract.
Still the coffee and croissant from the station buffet are good and the tables on the platform offer delightful views. Station thoroughly enjoyed – it would be worth a trip itself, even if Taormina the village high up above was not a beauty as well.
David Bruce March 2009
The finest treasures of the station are inside the building, designed by architect Ernesto Basile (1857-1932), who had developed an especially Sicilian
version of Art Nouveau.
The ticket hall is not very large but unique. Three ticket booths are defended by high arched elaborate black ironwork grills. In the centre of a pleasantly patterned stone floor stands a large glass case containing an antique vase and Greek and Roman stone fragments. It is however the ceiling which is extraordinary: superbly painted wood panels and beams present Sicilian coats of arms and brightly coloured fantastical mythical beasts. Gryphons and Unicorns compete with Phoenix and weirder birds, snakes and canines.
Perhaps even better is the First Class Waiting Room, which can be glimpsed through the reflection of a glass panelled door. Its leather seats are focussed around a fine looking ceramic jar but the gloom is too deep to see much of the tiled floor or to see a painted ceiling at all. All might be revealed after 10am, when the ticket office deigns to open for business, but by then the trains to and from Rome, Naples and the North have all departed.
Outside the station sits between the sea and lava cliff, capped by Taormina village. When the trains have gone, the quietness is intensified by the sound of waves breaking close by. Orange trees, palms and potted prickly pear plants set off the faded dark green railway paraphernalia – water hose derricks for long past steam engines, delicate pillared platform canopies around a castellated gothic and Norman Romanesque station building with mosaic name boards. The outside of this building is ill-served by standard Italian railway signing and bland magenta plaster wash, while jarring modern light standards and cable posts further detract.
Still the coffee and croissant from the station buffet are good and the tables on the platform offer delightful views. Station thoroughly enjoyed – it would be worth a trip itself, even if Taormina the village high up above was not a beauty as well.
David Bruce March 2009
No comments:
Post a Comment