Bologna Centrale station is the main railway station in Bologna and the fifth largest in Italy in terms of size and passenger traffic (approximately 78,000 m² used by 58,000,000 passengers a year), immediately after Florence (Firenze Santa Maria Novella) and ahead of Naples (Napoli Centrale).

The station is a major hub on which many northern Italian railway lines converge and then continue on through the Apennines to Florence or Rome or across and down the Adriatic to Ancona and Bari.

Today, the station ties with Roma Termini for the highest number of daily trains in transit (about 800), a figure that will soon increase when the new underground station for high speed trains is opened.

With its 16 mainline platforms, plus 7 more in its Piazzale Ovest and 4 more in its Piazzale Est, Bologna Centrale is one of the most important nodes in the Italian railway system and now a major player in its high-speed network (with lines from Milan to Bologna and Bologna to Florence running at speeds of up to 300 kmph. At Bologna Centrale, this project includes a new underground station (currently under construction) that will be 642 metres long, 56 metres wide and located 23 metres below ground level. The station will host four platforms for high speed trains only.

The main entrance to the station is in Piazza delle Medaglie d'Oro, a square which is also an important terminal for numerous buses that connect the station to the rest of the town. The square also includes a large taxi rank and various car hire agencies are located nearby.

Lodole Country House is about a 30-minute drive from Bologna Centrale station and can be reached by hiring a car in the vicinity of the Piazza Medaglie D’oro and then taking the A1 motorway towards Florence (Firenze) and turning off at the Sasso Marconi or Rioveggio exit.

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