Bologna ZTL: hours, cameras and who can drive in

Checked on 21 October 2026 against the city's ordinances and official pages.

Photo: Armin Kleiner, CC BY-SA 4.0

Right now in Bologna

Worked out with Italian time and public holidays from the official hours. The sign at the gate always prevails.

In Bologna, a visitor can drive legally into the city-centre ZTL by paying for it: a digital ticket at €6 a day or €15 for four days, which must be activated before you pass the camera. The ticket only covers the large ZTL monitored by the Sirio system, which is active every day from 7:00 to 20:00. Inside it, several smaller zones are watched around the clock and stay closed even with a ticket: the Zona T (Via Rizzoli, Via Ugo Bassi, Via Indipendenza), the university quarter, and the nightlife streets of Pratello and Moline.

That nesting is what catches visitors out: you can be perfectly legal in the big zone and still get a fine a hundred metres further on, simply by turning into a Zona T street. In the evening, from 20:00 to 7:00, the big ZTL is open to everyone, but the 24/7 zones are not.

The zones and their hours

ZTL Centro storico (Sirio)

The large historic-centre zone inside the ring of boulevards (the “viali”) that follows the line of the old city walls. Sirio cameras stand at the old gates and on the main roads into the centre.

It is active at these times:

Outside these hours, access is free.

The entrances are watched by 17 plate-reading cameras, known as varchi.

List of the 17 cameras (varchi)

Santo Stefano · San Vitale · Alessandrini · Marconi · Riva di Reno · San Felice · Sant'Isaia · Viale XII Giugno · D'Azeglio · Borgo di San Pietro · Finelli · Mascarella · Capo di Lucca · Bocca di Lupo · Degli Angeli · Saragozza · Chiudare

Zona T (via Rizzoli, via Ugo Bassi, via Indipendenza)

The shopping axis at the foot of the Two Towers: Via Rizzoli and Via Ugo Bassi, plus Via Indipendenza between Ugo Bassi and Via Righi, now pedestrianised. Monday to Friday only permit holders may drive there; from Saturday 8:00 to Sunday 22:00, and on public holidays from 8:00 to 22:00, the whole axis is pedestrian-only (the “T-Days”).

It is closed to unauthorised vehicles 24 hours a day, every day, Sundays and public holidays included: there is no quiet hour when you could slip through.

5 number-plate cameras (“varchi”) watch the entrances.

List of the 5 cameras (varchi)

Indipendenza · Ugo Bassi · Rizzoli · Re Enzo · Rizzoli (TPER)

Zona Università (Belle Arti, Belmeloro)

The streets of the university quarter around Via Zamboni, the Belle Arti and Belmeloro sectors. Motorbikes are banned just like cars.

It is closed to unauthorised vehicles 24 hours a day, every day, Sundays and public holidays included: there is no quiet hour when you could slip through.

2 number-plate cameras (“varchi”) watch the entrances.

List of the 2 cameras (varchi)

Via Bertoloni · Via Belmeloro

ZTLS San Francesco – Pratello

Via del Pratello, the streets around it (Pietralata, Paradiso, Calari, San Rocco) and Piazza San Francesco. The speed limit is 10 km/h and motorbikes are banned.

There are no time slots here: the ban applies day and night, all year round, public holidays included.

The entrances are watched by 7 plate-reading cameras, known as varchi.

Inside, the speed limit is 10 km/h.

List of the 7 cameras (varchi)

Via Paradiso · Via San Rocco · Via Calari · Via Pietralata · Via del Pratello · Piazza San Francesco (Malpighi) · Piazza San Francesco (Coltellini)

ZTLS Moline – Capo di Lucca

Via delle Moline and Via Capo di Lucca in the university quarter, including the Moline pedestrian area. Motorbikes are banned.

There are no time slots here: the ban applies day and night, all year round, public holidays included.

The entrances are watched by 3 plate-reading cameras, known as varchi.

List of the 3 cameras (varchi)

Via delle Moline (da Alessandrini) · Via delle Moline (da Mentana) · Via delle Moline (da Belle Arti)

Who can drive in

Visitors: hotels, rental cars, tickets

Staying in a hotel

The hotel can register your number plate. Give your plate number to reception as soon as you arrive. To park inside the zone, the hotel can issue you a parking pass (€9 / 24 h).

Using a car park inside the zone

The garage registers your plate, and access is then free. Check with the attendant when you arrive.

Tickets for non-residents

Visitors can pay to drive in: €6 for one day (valid 7:00 to 20:00); €15 for four consecutive days. The ticket must be bought before you pass the gate.

Rental cars

The fine notice goes to the rental company, which names you as the driver and usually charges an admin fee, before the fine itself reaches you, sometimes months later. A registration made in time by your hotel or garage covers a rental car just as well: all that counts is the number plate.

A few details on the ticket: it is sold online on the website of Sosty, the city's parking company, or at its counters, and must be activated before you drive in, waiting for the confirmation. Foreign plates are accepted (just untick “targa italiana”). Each vehicle can use at most three day tickets or one four-day ticket a month, and it covers neither parking nor the Zona T, Università, Pratello or Moline zones. There is no way to put things right afterwards.

If you are staying in a hotel, the hotel sends your plate to the city and can sell you a 24-hour parking pass for €9, valid in paid bays across the whole city and including a one-day bus ticket. In the Zona T and the special zones, only hotels located inside them with an agreement can do this. Hybrid cars belonging to non-residents have had no exemption since 1 January 2026; electric cars, on the other hand, can get free access, to be requested before your first entry.

Bologna in numbers

Where official sources disagree

If you drive in without a permit

Driving past an active gate without a permit costs €83 to €332 (article 7 of the Italian Highway Code), cut by 30% if you pay within 5 days. Since the 2024 reform, when the passages are recorded by camera rather than by an officer on the spot, only one fine per calendar day applies for the same ban, even if you drive through several times (article 198). No licence points are deducted. If you think you were entitled to enter (hotel, disabled badge), contact the office named on the notice before paying: a late registration can sometimes still be sorted out.

Frequently asked questions

Can tourists drive into Bologna's city centre?

Yes, into the big ZTL, by buying a digital ticket (€6 a day, €15 for four days) before passing the camera. From 20:00 to 7:00 it is open without a ticket. The Zona T, the university quarter, Pratello and Moline stay closed with or without a ticket.

Where do I buy the Bologna ZTL ticket?

In the online shop of Sosty, the city's parking company, or at its counters. It must be activated before you drive in; foreign plates are accepted.

My hotel is inside Bologna's ZTL: do I need a ticket?

No: the hotel sends your plate to the city. Give it to them in advance or as soon as you arrive. The hotel can also sell you a 24-hour parking pass for €9.

Can hybrid cars enter Bologna's ZTL?

Not if you are a non-resident: since 1 January 2026 the hybrid permit is only issued to Bologna residents and businesses. Permits already issued remain valid until they expire.

Can motorbikes ride in Bologna's centre?

Yes in the big ZTL and in the Zona T on weekdays, but not in the Università, Pratello and Moline zones, nor in the Zona T during the pedestrian T-Days.

Sources

Based on the city's own ordinances, rewritten in plain language. Only the ordinance in force and the sign at the gate are legally binding.