Subway design reimagined: Anish Kapoor’s Monte Sant’Angelo Station opens in Naples

On September 11th,2025, Naples unveils a bold addition to its metro network with the opening of the Monte Sant’Angelo Subway Station, a project that redefines subway design as a seamless fusion of art and architecture. Conceived by Anish Kapoor in collaboration with Future Systems, the station represents over two decades of work, bringing together engineering, sculpture, and myth-inspired vision.

Anish Kapoor’s architecture in the public realm

The project highlights how Anish Kapoor’s architecture transcends function, turning utilitarian structures into symbolic landmarks. Two distinct entrances frame the station’s identity: one, a weathering steel form that seems to grow organically from the ground, and the other, a polished tubular void carved into the landscape. Both are designed to reflect Naples’ unique geology and its cultural layers, resonating with references to Mount Vesuvius and Dante’s imagined gates to the Inferno.

Sculptural thresholds and Anish Kapoor’s structures

True to the artist’s language, these Anish Kapoor structures transform thresholds into experiences. The rust-toned steel monolith rises like an ancient relic, channeling archetypal forms of descent and ascent, while the smoother aluminium entrance offers a contrasting precision, evoking lightness and void. Together, they embody Kapoor’s fascination with inversion, interiority, and the play between solid and void.

A subway design rooted in myth and material

The interiors continue this dialogue: raw tunnel walls emphasize material honesty, while the journey underground becomes a metaphorical passage between body and landscape, surface and depth. This subway design is not simply an infrastructure project but a cultural statement, positioning Naples as a city where transit intersects with contemporary art on a monumental scale.