Video Guide for Bologna Centrale Railway Station - Bologna

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Bologna Centrale is outside Bologna’s city walls and completed in 1876 by architect Gaetano Ratti and later improved by Gian Luigi Giordani. It takes up quite an expansive area as this is a central hub in Italy. The Central Station came to prominence when a bomb in 1980 killed 85 people. Memorials around the station are dedicated in their honour.

Travel Video Tags for Bologna Centrale Railway Station:

Gaetano Ratti , Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari , bomb terrorist attack , Gian Luigi Giordani ,

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• San Niccolo degli Albari
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Bologna Centrale Railway Station - Photos

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Bologna Centrale Railway Station Travel Video - Audio Transcript

Bologna Centrale Railway Station

At the northern end of Bologna, just outside the old city walls is the Central Railway Station. Sticking out like an ear is this clock which reads 10.25. A more monumental one dedicated to the Strage di Bologna, meaning tragedy of Bologna, is located at the entrance, this too showing the same time.

On the 2nd August 1980 a bomb killed 85 people and wounded more than 200. The main culprits came from a neo-fascist terrorist organization calling themselves  Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari. To add further insult to the victims two and one former, members of the Italian military intelligence agency (SISMI) and Licio Gelli of the P2 Lodge were charged with investigative diversion.

            This is the main ticket hall.

            The other 11 tracks are reached by this underground. During rush hour this becomes incredibly over-crowded and hardly the place for standing around for a chat with friends. Also, at night it has a reputation for being home to drunks and the homeless so definitely not a safe place for women or children.

            The Pidemontese Government set up a committee called the Commissione Internationale who actually chose this design plan for the station. The architect Gaetano Ratti was selected and he completed it in 1876. Originally the station hosted a rich variety of artistic works including plasterwork, sculptures and paintings, but they were subsequently taken down before 1924.

             Further initiatives were put forward to improve the forecourt and station by the Futurist architect Angiolo Mazzioni but refused on the basis of the high costs involved.

            Another younger architect called Gian Luigi Giordani did however win a competition held by the podestà for which he completed the improvements just before WWII.

Standing on the bridge overlooking the train station you get a far better perspective of how large it is. At each end of the tracks is a huge, tall building. This would have been the old signals building now more or less defunct, while this other curious looking one is a water tower.

References

Giuseppe Sassatelli, Cristiana Morigi Govi, Jacopo Ortalli, Francesca Bocchi, Atlante Storico Delle Città Italiane Emilia Romagna Bologna I, Bologna 1996.

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