The main railway station of Bologna is simply called Bologna Centrale. It is one of the country’s main railway hubs and is located just north of the city centre. Next to the station is a railway overpass called Ponte Matteotti. The monument on the north side of this overpass is dedicated to the Shoah.
A brief history of Bologna railway station
The first version of the station was constructed in 1859. The nucleus of the current station dates back to 1871, however. The architect was Gaetano Ratti. The original clock tower did not survive allied bombings during World War II. In 2013, a lower level (Bologna Centrale AV) for high speed trains, was finished. Earlier extensions include 6 tracks on the west side, built in 1926, and six on the east side, finished in 1934. In 1980, a neo-fascist terrorist group planted a bomb in the station, which killed 85 people.
Ponte Matteotti railway overpass
The Ponte Matteotti is a wide railway overpass connecting the centre of of the city to the Bolognina neighborhood. It was part of a renovation plan for the railway station itself. The overpass was designed in 1924, by Enzo Bianchi and Leonida Barigazzi. The architect overseeing the work was Giuseppe Vaccaro. Its inauguration took place in 1926.
Giuseppe Vaccaro worked mostly in and around Bologna, but also designed the Palazzo delle Poste in Naples and collaborated on the design of Rome’s Fiumicino airport.
Shoah Memorial Monument
The Shoah Memorial Monument, on the corner of the Via Giacomo Matteotti and the Via Caracci, was inaugarated in January 2016. The design of the monument, partly paid for by the Jewish community of Las Vegas, was by Onorato di Manno, Andrea Tanci, Gianluca Sist, Lorenzo Catena and Chiara Cucina. The monuments consists of two 10 meter tall steel walls facing one another. The interior part is divided into rectangular portions, symbolizing prison cells.
Bologna central station area
Sources
- Storia e memoria di Bologna website (it)
- Photos are my own (©RenatoProsciutto).
- Last visit July 2026.