Best way to arrive from MXP airport to a House outside of Bologna

Most will not recommend a long drive after an overnight flight, which I am assuming you have.
I'd take the train. There is a train from airport to centrale. See Trenitalia/Italotren and airport websites for details.

There is a train from MXP to Milano Centrale every 30 minutes. Make sure you get the right train, as trains also go to Milano Cadorna in between the trains going to Centrale.

Driving from Malpensa to Bologna puts me to sleep on a regular day, let alone after a long overnight flight. That is the most boring drive on a straight freeway in the middle of a flat plain that I can think of. Maybe only driving through Kansas or Iowa (or along the California's Central Valley) would be that boring.

It's up to you, and I understand that renting the car from the get go at MXP would be cheaper than the train for two or more people, but so you know what to expect. Buy a 2 liter bottle of espresso and drink it while you drive.

Lol. Thank you for your responses. Its actually not an overnight flight but one from Portugal for 3 hours. In searching more my problem seems to lie in that its a sunday and the car rental at the Bologna Centrale is closed on Sundays. My concern on price for the train is negliable because if I rent from Milan and leave from Bologna I will have to pay a one way fee of $100 anyway. Is there any other ideas? Im thinking im kinda stuck with the drive...

Can you fly into Bologna?

OMG!!!! You are a genius! I love you! Im so stupid it didnt occur to me at all! Having never been in this particular area i was assuming there was no airport or it would be too small. But there is!!!

Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank

Lol
You’re welcome ;)

if I rent from Milan and leave from Bologna

I read this bit as if you were flying OUT of Bologna so made me wonder.

(we met up with my sister and her husband in Bologna last fall- they flew to Bologna from LAX)

You will be happy to fly into Bologna--we've been in and out of that airport a couple of times, and found it pretty easy to navigate.

Aaah...Bologna!

https://www.gpsmycity.com/gps-tour-guides/bologna-3639.html

https://www.italyheaven.co.uk/emiliaromagna/bologna.html

https://travelphotodiscovery.com/bologna-highlights-outdoor-markets-and-street-food-of-bologna/

[Cheese producers in Parma, Modena or Bologna]. https://www.emiliadelizia.com/parmesan-tours/

Probably the most confusing station in Italy:

https://help.g2rail.com/stations/bologna-centrale

I’m interested in the last link the last contributor posted but it won’t open. What’s the story with the train station?

Flying to Bologna is definitely the better option. Both TAP and RyanAir fly there from Portugal. And I use it to fly from California, generally via Germany (Lufthansa) but also via Paris (AirFrance). British also flies there from London Heathrow and Swiss via Zurich. So you have plenty of options from/to LAX.

Susan, I did not open the link, but if it says the Bologna train station is confusing, I would agree. It is huge and spread out, with different sections, some connected by a long corridor underground. Our experience has been that if you are connecting from a regional train to regional train at ground level, it is not bad. But if you are catching a fast train that uses the newer underground section, it can be a long walk through seemingly endless corridors and escalators to different levels.

Our most recent experience there was that we ended up on the wrong Italo train, because we went down to the designated platform too early. The platform itself had the staging information for the cars, but we did not see the actual train number—it was posted at the top of the escalator we had already descended. When an Italo train pulled in at the correct time for our reserved tickets, we boarded—-only to learn we were on our way to Milan instead of Venice. The sympathetic conductor said it happens a lot, and kindly helped us book the next train from Milan to Venice. But it took us 2 hours longer to reach Venice.

So if you are changing trains at Bologna, I suggest you allow at least 20 minutes, and check the signage very carefully.

Bologna is confusing because there is an underground car parking between the underground tracks and the surface.

To avoid getting on the wrong train, you are supposed to check the train number and the final destination that are written next to each car's door and above your head on the underground platforms at Bologna Centrale.

Wow thanks! I’m printing your posts and keeping them in my Bologna file!