Genova Piazza Principe railway station

Genova Piazza Principe
Exterior of the station building.
Location	Italy
Coordinates	44°25′00″N 8°55′14″E / 44.41667°N 8.92056°E / 44.41667; 8.92056Coordinates: 44°25′00″N 8°55′14″E / 44.41667°N 8.92056°E / 44.41667; 8.92056
Owned by	Rete Ferroviaria Italiana
Operated by	Grandi Stazioni
Line(s)	Pisa–Genoa Genoa–Milan Turin–Genoa Genoa–Ventimiglia Genoa–Acqui Terme
Platforms	20
History
Opened	1860
Electrified	1916 (three-phase)
Location
Genova Piazza Principe Genova Piazza Principe (Northern Italy)

Genova Piazza Principe railway station (commonly called Genova Principe or incorrectly Genova Porta Principe) is the central station of Genoa and is located on Piazza Acquaverde, occupying the entire north side of Via Andrea Doria—where the station entrance is located—in the town centre and a short distance from the Palazzo del Principe, from which it takes its name. It is used by about 66,000 passengers per day and 24,000,000 per year. The first temporary station was opened in 1854 at the end of the line from Turin. Lines were later opened to Milan, Rome and the French border at Ventimiglia.

The station derives its name from the adjacent Piazza del Principe (In Italian literally "plaza of the prince"), located next to the Palazzo del Principe (literally "palace of the prince") adjacent to the street called Via Andrea Doria in the Fassolo neighbourhood. The small goods yard, which was the core of the original station, occupies the area between Piazza del Principe, Via Andrea Doria and Piazza Acquaverde, where the main entrance is situated.

Foreigners often call the station Genova Porta Principe, perhaps confused by the names of stations in other cities, such as Milano Porta Garibaldi and Torino Porta Nuova. Note that there was once a gate in the medieval city walls called Porta San Tommaso (and sometimes called Porta Principe) where the steps to the Piazza Principe Metro station are now located and where some remains of the walls can still be seen. It was demolished in the nineteenth century.

The original station was designed by architect Alexander Mazzucchetti and construction began in 1853 and was completed and inaugurated in 1860. The original building had a single-span steel and glass roof, covering ten platforms and buildings for arrivals, departures and transiting passengers. At the time of the official inauguration of the Turin-Genoa railway in February 1854 only a temporary station had been opened.