Castellammare di Stabia. An important milestone for the online petition launched on Change.org to "Save the historic Castellammare di Stabia train station."
The initiative, promoted by former mayor Salvatore Vozza, has in fact exceeded a thousand signatures, gathering broad consensus among citizens and railway history enthusiasts.
The aim of the petition is to preserve and enhance this jewel of Bourbon architecture, inaugurated in 1842 and still active as a railway station. The appeal, which takes as a model the redevelopment project of the Bayard station in Naples, proposes a dual intervention:
Strengthening rail connections: An increase in the number of runs on the Campi Flegrei-Naples-Castellammare di Stabia regional metro line is requested, as well as the inclusion of the Stabia station in the High Speed rail plan.
Restoration and tourist development: Given its historical and architectural significance, the building could become a fully-fledged railway museum, opening its spaces to the public. Furthermore, a historic "Bourbon Royal Palace" train is proposed to connect the station to the Stabiae excavations and the new Libero D'Orsi Archaeological Museum of Stabiae in the Quisisana Palace.
"We are privileged," the online appeal reads , "to have the oldest operating mainline railway station in Italy. We cannot allow this heritage to be marred by decay. We must do everything we can to preserve and enhance it, making it a hub for cultural tourism and a driver of development for the city."
The wide support for the petition demonstrates the strong will of the community of Castellammare di Stabia to safeguard its history and invest in the future. Now the ball is in the court of the competent institutions, so that they can collect the requests of the citizens and take action for the recovery and enhancement of this precious monument.
