In Pontebba the Paris metro
At the Pontebba train station, under the old freight yard is a tunnel worthy of a movie scene and with a reverberation several seconds long.
A sound a hundred meters long
The Pontebba train station tunnel is very unusual. More than 100 meters long, it traverses the entire area of the old freight yard, with no intermediate exits and with an almost blind bottom since the final end, served by a flight of stairs with an outlet to Depot Street, is set sideways and cannot be seen until you get close to it.
The walls and ceiling are made of reinforced concrete, and the floor is tiled. These characteristics of it mean that a surprisingly long reverberation can be heard inside.
The place is a bit overlooked, but it is the perfect scene to play in, like in movies with artists in subway tunnels where a music runs for long distances. Perfect acoustics for voice, wind or string instruments, or small percussion. In this tunnel the passages of people are sporadic, so it is not suitable for collecting offerings in the style of buskers, the street musicians, however acoustically it gives much satisfaction.
Directions
WHERE
At the train station you can of course get there by local train or by bus or car, but just a few meters away also passes the Alpe Adria bicycle route, a route reserved for bicycles that connects Salzburg to Grado by taking advantage of the line of the old railway.
WHEN
Always open.
ACCESSIBILITY
It is not independently accessible by wheelchair. On the entrance side one has to climb 4 steps, while in the exit on Depot Street there are two flights of rather steep and narrow stairs. However, FFSS staff is present to give assistance.
Audio
Nny recording no matter how technically advanced can ever represent the experience of real listening. Topofonie.it is not an archive of sounds, but an invitation to go and listen with our own ears to the world around us. The files given here are for documentary purposes only.
Like all “passive” topophonies-that is, those places that have special acoustics but no voice of their own-we used a sound to “activate” this one.
The audio below is a short quote from a 1980s film by a famous director. Whoever guesses it is good.
Links and insights
- The plain that housed the freight yard, now dismantled, is a clear sign of the importance this station had in the past. Pontebba served as an Austrian border station until the end of World War I and performed customs functions for goods in transit across the new Tarvisio border until a few years ago.
- The Pontebba station is located on the route of the Alpe Adria Cycle Route, a wonderful route that connects Grado with Salzburg by bicycle and passes through forests, tunnels, and nature oases.
- In June 2024, with a desire to make this transit place more attractive, an installation of light and colored panels was commissioned from Dutch artist Jan van der Ploeg.
- A short distance from the station, at the entrance to the village, is the Claudio Vuerich Ice Rink, bustling with sporting events, trainings, and competitions and beloved by the public thanks mainlyto ice hockey. Acoustically speaking the facility is half a disaster, if for no other reason than that it is worth a visit.