Modena tourist information
Modena is so fascinating that even the Unesco was charmed by its beauty. In fact, the Cathedral, the Ghirlandina tower and Piazza Grande – three extraordinary beauties within a few metres’ distance – have been in the World Heritage List since 1997. This is one of the reasons why Modena is a town of Culture.
Otherwise, Modena is universally known for its excellent food and wine, such as balsamic vinegar, Lambrusco wine, Parmigiano cheese or typical local salami. But Modena is also world-famous for its car-making factories. Each year Ferrari and Maserati are visited by millions of car lovers coming from all over the planet, as far as Japan.
“The nicest cathedral of Emilia and the most celebrated Italian illuminated manuscript are in Modena. The Cathedral of Modena is an anthology and a mine of Romanesque sculpture”. These words were written by the Italian writer Guido Piovene between 1953 and 1956. The Cathedral, whose building began in 1099 (although it was only consecrated in 1184), is known as one of the absolute masterpieces of European Romanesque style. It is an impressive building – it has an imposing structure (designed by the renowned architect Lanfranc) and a beautiful facade, covered with statues by the famous medieval sculptor Wiligelmus. Cobbled Piazza Grande is the heart of the town. It is framed by the Ghirlandina tower, 87 metres tall and slightly out of line with the square, and the L-shaped 17th-century town hall or Palazzo Comunale, which takes up two sides of the piazza and actually incorporates several medieval buildings.
Museum Palace (Palazzo dei Musei) is in nearby Piazza Sant'Agostino. This is where the “nicest illuminated book” is kept: it is a Bible which belonged to Borso d'Este, currently on show at the Estense Library (Biblioteca Estense). After taking a look at the ancient books of the Este family, don’t forget to visit Galleria Estense, which was the private picture collection of the old lords of Modena. It is one of the most important Italian galleries, containing works by Bernini, Velasquez, Correggio and El Greco. Palazzo dei Musei also houses several municipal museums: a Medieval and Modern Art and History Museum, containing paintings and sculptures dating from the Middle Ages to the modern age, an Archaeological Museum and an Ethnological Collection. And don’t be surprised if you see soldiers in strange shiny uniforms strutting around town. They are cadets of the Military Academy, the only Italian institute for the education of regular army officer. The Academy is housed in Palazzo Ducale, built in 1634 as a court for the Este family. Corso Canalgrande is one of the most elegant streets in town. At number 85 of this street you will find the Teatro Comunale (municipal theatre), designed by architect Francesco Vandelli in 1838 and officially opened in 1841. Finally, if you are familiar with Italian literature or want to know more about it, at Palazzo Comunale you will find a curious object, kept in the room called “Camerino dei Confirmati”. It is the very same bucket which was stolen from Bologna by the Modenese in 1325 and celebrated by Tassoni in a poem called “La secchia rapita” (”The rape of the bucket”).
In Modena there are a number of tiny workshops restoring furniture and art objects or producing small wooden bottles specially made for balsamic vinegar, gold jewels, straw-bottomed chairs and worked stone, just to mention a few trades. Modena is a good place for shopping. In fact, shopping is a popular hobby here! Local shop-windows often display clothes before their official release; one of the reasons of this could be that several fashion houses are concentrated in the province of Modena. Shops are particularly interesting under the porticoes of Via Emilia and in the town centre as a whole.
Talking about shopping, you will probably find local food and wine the most interesting things to buy. Dop Aceto balsamico tradizionale di Modena (balsamic vinegar) tops the bill. Other attractions are Dop Parmigiano Reggiano, Dop Prosciutto di Modena (ham), Igp Zampone di Modena (stuffed pig’s trotter), Igp Cotechino di Modena (a type of stewing pork sausage). Igp is the Italian acronym for “Protected geographical indication”, while Dop stands for “Protected designation of origin”. Speaking of zampone, in 1991 Castelnuovo Rangone, a small town in the province of Modena whose life and culture revolve around pork meat – a monument to pigs stands in the main square – entered the Guinness book of records with the biggest zampone in the world. Making huge zamponi, however, is a local tradition: on the occasion of the 2000 village fair, citizens prepared, cooked and ate a zampone weighing 450 kg.
Other specialities of Modena and its province are pasta dishes, particularly tortellini, and traditional types of bread such as tigella, a small flat and unleavened round bread which is typical of the Apennine area and is eaten with lard or salami, or gnocco fritto (a dough made of flour and water and fried in steaming hot oil). The small village of Vignola is famous for its cherries, while mountain areas produce plenty of chestnuts and precious white truffles. Typical desserts are Spilamberto almond macaroons (amaretti) and the Barozzi cake, whose recipe includes cocoa and a secret ingredient. All this good food must be washed down with a special wine: the famous “Grasparossa di Castelvetro”, a Doc Lambrusco (Doc being the Italian acronym for “Registered denomination of origin”; it can be found on the labels of the best Italian quality wines).
