Landmark subway project dates back to 2003.
Naples has inaugurated its Monte Sant’Angelo metro station, designed by the celebrated British-Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor, in a project that began two decades ago.
The subway station on the new Line 7 was launched on Thursday by the governor of Italy’s southern Campania region, Vincenzo De Luca, in the company of the artist.
The new landmark, part of the city’s ongoing “art stations” programme, was commissioned in 2003 and took more than 20 years to develop, from concept to completion.
Blurring the boundaries between architecture and art, Kapoor’s design draws inspiration from the unique geology and mythology of Naples.
“In the city of Mount Vesuvius and Dante’s mythical entrance to the Inferno” – the artist said – “I found it important to try and deal with what it really means to go underground.”
Kapoor, known for his large-scale, perception-altering works including Chicago’s Cloud Gate, has created two distinct entrances for the station.
One – crafted from weathering Corten steel – swells out of the ground in a raw, almost volcanic form, a striking sculpture with surfaces destined to oxidize and change colour over time.
In stark contrast, the second entrance offers a smooth, tubular opening of polished aluminum that appears sunken into the urban landscape.
Born in Mumbai in 1954, Kapoor trained as an artist in London, where he began his career in the late 1970s.
Global recognition came in 1990 when he represented the UK at the Venice Biennale – receiving the Premio Duemila – and in 1991 when he won the Turner Prize, Britain’s highest award for contemporary art.
Scheduled to become operational on 15 October, the new Line 7 will connect the Soccavo Circumflegrea station with Monte Sant’Angelo, a strategic hub for the western part of Naples and the Federico II University.
