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How loud is Bologna, Italy?

In Bologna, Italy, most noise-exposed residents face average day-evening-night (Lden) transport noise of 55–70 dB, mostly from road traffic and railways, dropping to 50–65 dB at night. That ranks Bologna #164 of 314 European cities by modeled EEA exposure, right at the European median.

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Noise map of Bologna, Italy: road-traffic noise contours from the EU strategic noise maps, shaded yellow (≈55 dB Lden) through orange and red to dark purple (≈75 dB+), over the city's street network.
Bologna's road-traffic noise, mapped: each band is a modeled Lden contour from the EU Environmental Noise Directive (2022 round) — yellow ≈55 dB rising to dark purple ≈75 dB+. Basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors, © CARTO.
Bologna at a glance (EEA noise-map data)
European rank (of 314) #164
Daytime Lden range 55–70 dB
Night Lnight range 50–65 dB
vs. WHO guideline ≈ 10 dB above the 53 dB Lden road-noise guideline (night guideline: 45 dB)
Dominant source road traffic and railways
Population 488,742
Data confidence high

Of Bologna's 488,742 residents, the noise-exposed share lives with average day-evening-night (Lden) transport noise of 55–70 dB, dropping to 50–65 dB overnight (Lnight). The dominant source is road traffic and railways. Overall the city ranks #164 of 314 European cities, right at the European median. Among Italy's 34 ranked agglomerations, Bologna is the 14th-loudest. Across Europe it sits just below Orsay, France (#163) and just above Heerlen, Netherlands (#165).

The WHO road-traffic guideline is 53 dB Lden by day and 45 dB Lnight at night, so Bologna's exposed residents run roughly 10 dB above the daytime guideline. The figures count road, rail, aircraft and industry only, so sirens, nightlife and construction sit outside the model — which is why modeled exposure can differ from a city's reputation for noise.

These are the agency's modeled values, not our estimates: they come from Italy's strategic noise maps reported under the EU Environmental Noise Directive (2022 round) and harmonised by the European Environment Agency. Lden is the annual-average day-evening-night level; only people above the 55 dB Lden reporting threshold are counted, so the range describes the noise-exposed population, not the city's quietest streets.

Environmental noise in Bologna, by the numbers

  • Ranks #164 of 314 European cities by modeled day-evening-night (Lden) transport-noise exposure.
  • Exposed residents face Lden 55–70 dB by day and Lnight 50–65 dB at night.
  • Dominant noise source: road traffic and railways. Population 488,742.
  • The 14th-loudest of Italy's 34 ranked agglomerations.

These are modeled values from the EU Environmental Noise Directive strategic noise maps (2022 round), harmonised by the European Environment Agency — see the methodology on the European city ranking. Lden is the annual-average day-evening-night level; only residents above the 55 dB Lden threshold are reported.

License: Bologna's figures and noise map are published under CC BY 4.0 — reuse or republish with attribution to decibelshield.app (source: EU Environmental Noise Directive strategic noise maps, 2022 round, European Environment Agency; basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors, © CARTO). Download the full dataset (CSV · JSON) or the Bologna map image.

How Bologna ranks

Cities near Bologna

The nearest mapped cities to Bologna, each with its own daytime range from the same official noise maps for a like-for-like comparison.

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