Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Italy Bologna Bologna Centrale Station Clock

Bologna Centrale Station Clock

Time has been frozen at this station since the bombing in 1980—or so it was believed.

Bologna, Italy

Fred Cherrygarden profile photo
Added By
Fred Cherrygarden
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
The clock showing the time of the bombing.   Wikimedia/ho visto nina volare
The Bologna Centrale railway station.   Flickr/Dimitris Kamaras
The Bologna Centrale station clock.   Wikimedia/Prof.Quatermass
  Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

On August 2, 1980, a neo-fascist terrorist group hid a time bomb at the Bologna Centrale station, killing 85 people and wounding more than 200. It is one of the major incidents during the tumultuous Years of Lead, the period of social and political strife that lasted from the 1960s to the 1980s,  and arguably the very worst of these.

Some time after this massacre, a subtle controversy occurred concerning the station's clock. In a 2010 study, local people were asked about it, and 92 percent of them responded that they remembered the clock had stopped since the bombing. But, as it turned out, this was a collective false memory, a phenomenon commonly referred to today as the "Mandela effect." 

In reality, the clock was repaired shortly after the attack. About 17 years later, it was again stopped and set to the time of the bombing in commemoration of it, and has remained so ever since. 

Places

Discover your next amazing Atlas Place.

Get more unusual and extraordinary places each week with the Atlas Obscura Places newsletter.

Your newsletter subscriptions with us are subject to Atlas Obscura's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Community Contributors

Fred Cherrygarden profile photo

Added By

Fred Cherrygarden

S siegeldj profile photo

Edited By

siegeldj

  • S siegeldj profile photo siegeldj

Published

June 6, 2020

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://www.alternatememories.com/historical-events/general/the-stopped-clock-of-bologna
  • https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256375079_Collective_representation_elicit_widespread_individual_false_memories

Related Tags

Clocks Bombs Train Stations
Bologna Centrale Station Clock
Piazza delle Medaglie d'Oro
Bologna, 40121
Italy
44.50581, 11.343616
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Bologna Centrale Bombing Memorial

Bologna, Italy

miles away

Castello di Galliera

Bologna, Italy

miles away

Statue of Freak Antoni

Bologna, Italy

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bologna

Bologna

Italy

Places 24
Stories 2

Nearby Places

Bologna Centrale Bombing Memorial

Bologna, Italy

miles away

Castello di Galliera

Bologna, Italy

miles away

Statue of Freak Antoni

Bologna, Italy

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bologna

Bologna

Italy

Places 24
Stories 2

Related Places

  • Steaming Tender Restaurant

    Palmer, Massachusetts

    Steaming Tender Restaurant

    This former abandoned train station converted into a restaurant and small museum is a delight for both casual diners and rail enthusiasts alike.

  • Havneholmen Metro Station

    Copenhagen, Denmark

    Havneholmen Metro Station

    A station imagined at the speed of light, where familiar fixtures slip out of place.

  • Automatons clock at Thornton’s Arcade

    Leeds, England

    The Ivanhoe Clock

    Since 1877, the characters of Sir Walter Scott’s “Ivanhoe” have been keeping time in this Leeds arcade.

  • David Sassoon Clock Tower

    Mumbai, India

    David Sassoon Clock Tower

    This slender 19th-century clock tower stands at the entrance of a famous garden and zoo.

  • East Finchley  Tube Station & the Archer

    London, England

    East Finchley Tube Station & the Archer

    The Underground railway station and its Cubist/Art Deco statue are so evocative of 1920s/30s London that one almost expects to see Poirot on the stairs.

  • Damaged floor below the plaque

    Bologna, Italy

    Bologna Centrale Bombing Memorial

    A memorial to the deadliest terror attack during an unsettled period of Italy’s recent history.

  • Tuam Railway Station

    Tuam, Ireland

    Tuam Railway Station

    This disused railway station is a beautiful lost place with a Victorian foot bridge and some graffiti.

  • The clock tower of the old Nottingham Victoria Station

    Nottingham, England

    Site of Nottingham Victoria Railway Station

    Closing the station left a big hole in the ground. So they put in a shopping centre, a block of apartments and bus station over it and the largest undercover car park Europe in it.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2026 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.