Head of Minerva

The collection of sculptures of the AEM Foundation – A2A Group was inherited from the municipal company during the presidency of Roberto Tremelloni, from 195 to1 1962. A man passionate about history and connected to the city of Milan, Tremelloni had sculptural elements that adorned the old Milan railway station recovered and placed in the company's locations. Today, a substantial nucleus of fragments is located in the courtyard of the Ricevitrice Ovest on Via Antonio Pianella, while the three sculptures exhibited in AEMuseum since July 2025 come from the historic headquarters on Via della Signora.
The old station in Milan, inaugurated in February 1864, was located in Piazzale Fiume (now Piazza della Repubblica) and was decommissioned and replaced in 1931 by the current Central Station in Piazza Duca D’Aosta. Architectural sculptures in Vicenza stone decorated the main entrance for travelers, designed in French Renaissance style: the female head was the keystone of one of the entry arches, while the lion head and the fragment with a hind leg and tail formed one of the two winged lion figures flanking the clock in the pediment of the façade. The sculptural decorations, in line with the 19th-century taste of those years, refer to mythological figures enriched by floral motifs: the female head may represent a Greek goddess, perhaps Minerva, a symbol of wisdom and protector of the arts and cities, whose expressive force was emphasized by the alternation with the lion figures, symbols of strength, majesty, and protection.
An enterprise, in addition to producing culture spontaneously, is also capable of preserving collective memories through the foresight and sensitivity of some of its main protagonists, starting with great presidents of the past such as Roberto Tremelloni.