Demolished the Villoresi West truck stop, the historic economic boom station. It will be rebuilt

Demolition of the historic Villoresi Ovest service station along the A8 Milan-Varese highway near Lainate was completed in recent hours: the dismantling of the building began in recent months, and now only the large steel dome remains, one of the most recognizable structures on our highways, designed in 1958 by architect Angelo Bianchetti (Milan, 1911 - 1994), who had trained studying the great Bauhaus architects and designers, such as Gropius and Marcel Breuer, and who did not disdain the modules of Le Corbusier. Bianchetti’s station (also known as the “father” of bridge stations: the one in Fiorenzuola d’Arda along the A1, also designed by Bianchetti, is the first of its kind opened in Europe, in 1959) accompanied the journeys of generations upon generations of Italians: now, the circular building that resembled a spaceship and stood under the large, twenty-seven-meter-high steel structure will be rebuilt.

The Villoresi Ovest station, built for Pavesi and later passed on to Autogrill, was one of the symbols of the economic boom: in 1960 it even earned the cover of the American magazine Life precisely because of its futuristic shape (three self-supporting arches meeting), which was meant to symbolize the future of Italy. At the moment it is not known what form the new building will take: all that is known is that Autogrill has invested 4.5 million euros to redo the structure. However, from what is leaking from the press, it can be imagined that the new station will dialogue with the large “volcano” of Villoresi Est, the autogrill located on the opposite lane of the highway that was opened in 2013 (designed by Giulio Ceppi’s Total Tool studio).

Pictured is a vintage photo of the Villoresi Ovest station.

Demolished the Villoresi West truck stop, the historic economic boom station. It will be rebuilt

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