Angiolo Mazzoni

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Angiolo Mazzoni (1894 - 1979) was one of the most brilliantly creative and prolific Italian architects of the 1920s and 1930s. Stylistically rooted in nineteenth-century eclecticism, he was never formally associated with any of the Italian modern movement groups, but had powerful links to Futurism "seconda maniera" (the second wave), whilst retaining profound connections to the Viennese School of Hoffman and Wagner, and a deeply rooted classical instinct. From one project to another his stylistic approach vacillated dramatically, from the overtly bombastic and classical to the dynamically modern; in every case, his handling of composition, solids and voids, light and shade, surfaces and materials, was originally conceived, spirited, poetic, erudite, strong, and full of conviction. After many years of critical neglect Mazzoni is beginning to re-emerge and occupy his rightful position as one of the most outstanding Italian architects of the modern period.

An able political mover, he married the daughter of Mussolini's Minister of Communications, Galeazzo Ciano; he owed his great success and influence to his intimate connections with the Fascist regime, and played a decisive role in using architecture to consolidate a positive image of Fascism up and down the entire length of Italy, as chief architect for the Ministry of Communications and for the State Railways - two key modernising sectors of the Fascist rebuilding programmes.

Mazzoni designed many public buildings during the 1920s and 1930s, among which post offices and train stations. He joined Futurism in the 1930s and co-authored the Manifesto of Aerial Architecture (signed also by F.T. Marinetti).

[edit] Trento's Railway Station

Trento's Train Station (1934–36).

A classic example of Mazzoni's work is the railway station in Trento, a city in the north-eastern Italian Alps, built during 1934–36. Trento had a special significance for the Fascist regime as the capital of the Alto Adige (Sud Tirol) annexed to a victorious Italy from a defeated Austria under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles after World War I. Mazzoni had been born in the Alto Adige.

The regime engaged in a comprehensive program of public works, during the years 1920–1940, leading to the construction of many new public buildings, and Mazzoni was the architect of most of them.

Front Columnade.

The railway station at Trento is in one sense Mazzoni's somewhat personalised interpretation of the functionalism typical of the time; in another sense, the building's continuous windows and dynamic structural lines express the Futurist idea of speed and streamlining. The station stands out due to its innovative use of advanced building materials, including steel and glass and the use of several varieties of local stone.

The Main Hall (telephone booths and departurs/arrivals panel are later additions).

The station offers platforms on four rail tracks and its design expressly facilitates the flow of people from the street to the trains. Wide wood-frame doors open on the entire facade. A wide, shallow staircase leads to the underpassage to the 2nd and 3rd tracks. Spacious waiting space is provided under cover or indoor.

In addition to ticket offices, a tobacconist, a news-stand and baggage store, the station also provided office space for administration, restrooms, a restaurant and bar (today only a bar remains) and conference rooms and meeting space. Mazzoni was more than an architect; he was also an important interior and furniture designer, and all the components of his buildings, from wall decorations to brass door-handles and glazed screens, were designed by his office. The main hall of Trento railway station was decorated with large mosaics depicting the life of the people, and the natural beauties of the mountainous region around Trento. These depictions were typical of the time and served an educational-propagandistic purpose. Originally, the ceiling is said to have been painted light green.

All over Italy there are literally hundreds, if not thousands of large and small railway and telecommunications buildings by Mazzoni, still extant and functioning - a tribute to his mastery of robust, hard-working construction - although his problematic relationship with Fascism has made it difficult for Italian architecture culture to fully acknowledge his importance, and as a result many very important buildings by Mazzoni have been crudely altered or demolished. His own recalcitrant Fascism, even after the end of the Second World War (when he left Italy for South America) did him no favours.

Of those remaining, some of the most important buildings are the boiler house, control cabin and personnel facilities at Florence railway station (1934); the railway station at Siena (1933-35), and the railway station at Montecatini Terme (1933-37). But there are innumerable others and in recent years, some important academics and scholars (Ezio Godoli, Giorgio Muratore, Enrico Crispolti and others) have begun a process of rehabilitation and critical re-evaluation of Mazzoni. His archive is now in safe hands at the Museum of Modern Art in Trento, and belated but welcome efforts are at last being made to ensure the correct conservation of his most important surviving buildings.

To date (January 2007) the most comprehensive critical survey of Mazzoni's work is "Angiolo Mazzoni (1894-1979) - Architetto Ingegnere del Ministero delle Communicazioni", SKIRA, 2003.