The Porta Romana: Gateway to the past

Last week, we discussed the reorganisation plan for the site of the Groce Rossa Station on the Milan subway system. This week, we shall talk about the above-ground building site for the Crocetta Station.

The plan mainly consists of an aedicula (shaped like a little temple, it is a construction designed to shelter people and also statues).

It is aligned along two historical streets — Corso di Porta Vigentina and Corso di Porta Romana. The latter ends at Porta Romana, the oldest gate inserted into the Spanish ramparts. Designed by Martino Bassi and Aurelio Trezzi, the arc was inaugurated in 1596.

The selection of construction materials for the aedicula, including the exposed brick and imperial Bardiglio marble, and the adoption of a classic form of scanning for the architectural solution of the façades bear the marks of Milan’s old days.

Therefore, the construction and setting of Largo Crocetta is based on historical memories that are still of interest today.

The north-west side of the temple, covering the elevator shaft and the stairway for access to the subway, will measure 5.6 metres, while its south-west side will measure 21.5 metres (along Corso di Porta Vigentina). The south-east side will be 17.85 metres long, and the north-east side along Corso di Porta Romana 17.6 metres. The total covered surface area will measure 206.36 metres.

A trapezoidal (flat with four straight sides, none of which is parallel) fountain on a marble slab and displaying sculptor George Segal’s Rash Hour in bronze will be located behind the elevator shaft.

The parapet for the stairway leading to the station’s mezzanine will be made of brick laid with marble. The pavement in the covered area will also be of brick in a herringbone pattern. The rest of the pavement will be made of porphyry slabs in the same pattern and will lead to the sidewalks of several streets.

Various kinds of trees and shrubs (birch, linden oak or thornbushes) will be planted along these streets. As agreed upon with the municipal traffic police, a statue of San Calimero will be placed on a median at the intersection of Corso di Porta Romana and Corso di Porta Vigentina.

The temple’s façade will be 4.5 metres high. The doorframe, composed of two cross brackets, is to be supported by a series of steel pillars. These pillars will have a façade of exposed brick. A drain, 6 cm in diameter, will run inside.

The sloping double-pitch roof will be made of polycarbonate slabs with two faces: an opaque exterior and a transparent interior. The slabs will be attached to a galvanised steel grating with a 5x5 cm mesh. The entire piece will be supported by a series of assembled and welded solid steel trusses of variable heights.

The entire complex of the subway station — to be raised off the ground by stilts — will make it possible to expand the public area. It could contain service facilities to turn the area into a perfect “covered square”.

Partha Ranjan Das
(The author is an Architect and urban designer