Waiting for Metro C

Piazza Venezia has become unrecognizable. The vast square in the heart of Rome, between the Forum, the Capitoline Hill and Via del Corso, has turned into a gigantic construction site. Work is underway on the Venezia subway station of Metro C, also known as the Linea Gialla (Yellow Line). Cranes, derricks, large green silos, trucks driving back and forth and helmeted men (and one woman) in orange overalls hide the monumental Palazzo Venezia from view. Including the famous platform from which Mussolini once shouted at his wildly enthusiastic compatriots.

Nuisance

Some of the surrounding streets have also been closed off to the public with bars and fences. Because Piazza Venezia is already a busy traffic intersection under normal circumstances, this causes some inconvenience.

Around the square there is a never-ending stream of honking, growling, rumbling and spewing gases, city buses, tourist buses, taxis, large black government cars, passenger cars, motorcycles and scooters. In short, total chaos. And that will take another 10 years, because the station does not have to be completed until 2034, as the (temporary) terminus of the new Metro C.

When the foreign press association in Rome was recently invited to take a look at the future metro station, there was great interest. We expected an exciting tour through newly excavated dark caverns in the mysterious underbelly of the Eternal City, but the reality turned out to be less poetic.

We were allowed onto the construction site, dressed in vests, helmets and heavy shoes, but remained above ground. The work is still in the preparatory phase and real drilling will not start until next year, explained project leader Andrea Sciotti, who treated us to a technical presentation, which turned out to be quite interesting.

Efficient transportation

Although not always on time and overcrowded during rush hours, the metro is the most efficient form of public transport in Rome, especially because buses, trams and taxis all too often get stuck in traffic or take forever to arrive. The problem is that Rome has a limited metro network and its expansion is about as slow as building a medieval cathedral.

The first line, colored blue on the map, now called Linea B and running roughly north-south, was already planned in the 30s. The intention was to connect the city center with EUR, the Esposizione Universale di Roma, the 1942 World Exhibition with which Mussolini wanted to convince the world of the greatness of 20 years of fascism.

Very little came of all this, because the war and the fall of the regime intervened, so that the line was finally only completed after twenty years of delay in 1955. In 1980, Linea A, the 'red line', was added. west to east, but this left most of the city without the metro. (However, 10 years ago a branch of the Linea B, the B1, was added to the Montesacro district. As a resident of that area, I can assure that it was a major progress.)

Line 3

In the 90s, preparations began for a 3rd line connecting the southeast of the city with the center. The construction of the modern automatically controlled (driverless) trainsets equipped, Linea C started in 2007.

Most of the 25,6 km long route – from the outermost periphery to the Basilica of St. John in Lateran – has now been completed, but the construction of the last 3 kilometers could take another 10 years. As is often the case in Italy, work is held up by bureaucratic procedures and a chronic lack of money, but also because in Rome you only have to put a spade in the ground to come across archaeological remains.

These must be investigated, with valuable time lost for the builders. However, in recent years a workable compromise has been found with the archaeological service of Rome, which is directly involved in the construction and can work un-academicly quickly if necessary.

The top 15 meters are carefully excavated layer by layer, finds are mapped and some of them are exhibited in the metro stations themselves. The Stazione San Giovanni, which opened in 2018, is therefore worth a visit as a small museum.

Below 15 meters you can drill freely, so that line C is between 45 and 85 meters deep, which may be interesting for geologists, but not for archaeologists.

Colosseum

The new Colosseo station of line C will be completed in the summer of 2025 (next to the existing stop of line B). This means that the yellow fences that have blocked the view of the monument for years and narrowed the Via dei Fori Imperiali (from the Colosseum to Piazza Venezia) will finally disappear.  

The biggest job now is Piazza Venezia, from which further corridors are being constructed, including to a future stop at Sint Pieter. Due to the vulnerability of the monuments above, such as Trajan's Column, this must be done very carefully, with the earth first being frozen before drilling can begin.  

Citizens and visitors will therefore continue to experience traffic jams and patient suffering around Piazza Venezia, especially in the coming Jubilee Year of 2025, which is expected to attract another 30 million pilgrims to Rome.

Project leader Sciotti swears that everything is being done to keep the nuisance to a minimum and confirms in passing that there are already plans for a Line D. But we won't see that again.