About
Milan's central station hides an exclusive waiting room built for the royal family in the 1920s.
Every day over 300,000 people walk in front of a series of closed doors without every wondering what is behind them. They have no idea that those doors give access to the most luxurious and exclusive room in the building, the Padiglione Reale, or Royal Pavilion. The station was designed by architect Ulisse Stacchini in the early 1900s and its blueprints had to be changed several times, especially after Mussolini became head of the Italian government. In 1925, Minister of Communications, Costanzo Ciano suggested adding a waiting room for Italy’s royal family, the Savoias, who took the train to their countryside palace in Monza. Even though the monarchy was disestablished in Italy right after World War II, the royal waiting room is still there.
