Modena

Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and comune (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025.

Famous Modenesi include Mary of Modena, the Queen consort of England and Scotland; operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti and soprano Mirella Freni, born in Modena itself; Enzo Ferrari, eponymous founder of the Ferrari motor company; Catholic priest Gabriele Amorth; chef Massimo Bottura; comics artist Franco Bonvicini; the band Modena City Ramblers and singer-songwriter Francesco Guccini, who lived here for several decades.

History

Ancient times

The territory around Modena (, ) was inhabited by the Villanovans in the Iron Age, and later by Ligurian tribes, Etruscans, and the Gaulish Boii (the settlement itself being Etruscan). Although the exact date of its foundation is unknown, it is known that it was already in existence in the 3rd century BC, for in 218 BC, during Hannibal's invasion of Italy, the Boii revolted and laid siege to the city. Livy described it as a fortified citadel where Roman magistrates took shelter. The outcome of the siege is not known, but the city was most likely abandoned after Hannibal's arrival. Mutina was refounded as a Roman colony in 183 BC, to be used as a military base by Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, causing the Ligurians to sack it in 177 BC. Nonetheless, it was rebuilt, and quickly became the most important centre in Cisalpine Gaul, both because of its strategic importance and because it was on an important crossroads between Via Aemilia and the road going to Verona.

center|thumb|800px|A view of Piazza Grande

In the 1st century BC, Mutina was besieged twice. The first siege was by Pompey in 78 BC, when Mutina was defended by Marcus Junius Brutus

|source 2 = Climi e viaggi (precipitation days)

Administration

From 1946 to 1992, Modena had a series of Communist mayors. From the 1990s, the city has been governed by center-left coalitions. The legislative body of the municipality (comune) is the City Council (), which is composed by 32 members elected (jointly with the mayor) by the citizens every five years. Modena's executive body is the City Committee (Giunta Comunale), which is composed by 9 assessors (appointed and dismissed by the mayor), of which one is deputy-mayor, and the mayor. The mayor from 2019 to 2024 of Modena was Gian Carlo Muzzarelli, a member of the Democratic Party.

Demographics

As of 2025, Modena has a population of 184,739, with the population density being at . In 2011, minors (children ages 18 and younger) totaled 16.2 percent of the population compared to pensioners who number 22.5 percent. This compares with the Italian average of 18.1 percent (minors) and 19.9 percent (pensioners). The average age of Modena resident is 44 compared to the Italian average of 42. Between 2011 and 2021, Modena grew by 3.2%, while Italy as a whole declined by 0.7%.

Culture

Museums

Museum Palace

The Museum Palace, on the St. Augustine square, is an example of civil architecture from the Este period, built as a Hostel for the poor, together with the nearby Hospital in the late 18th century. Today it houses the main museums of Modena:

Estense Gallery, with works by Tintoretto, Paolo Veronese, Guido Reni, Correggio, Cosmé Tura and brothers Annibale and Agostino Carracci. The most famous works are the two portraits of Francis I d'Este, a sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and a canvas by Diego Velázquez.
Estense Library, one of the most important libraries in Italy.
Museum of Medieval and Modern Art.
Municipal Museum of Risorgimento.
Este Headstones Museum.
Roman Lapidary Museum.
Graziosi Gallery of Plaster Casts.
City Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.

The Estense Gallery and Library have reopened on 29 May 2015 after the earthquake of 2012. The Gallery has been completely restored but some pieces are still damaged and thus cannot be seen.

Museums of the Cathedral

Opened for the Great Jubilee in 2000, the Museum of the Cathedral houses a rich collection of artistic heritage, in particular liturgical ornaments and furnishings. Apart from the finds of the cathedral building site by Wiligelmus and Lanfranco, such as romanesque metopes and roof decorations, in the Lapidary there are also reliefs, sculptures and inscriptions of the Roman, Medieval and Renaissance era found in the cathedral area during the restoration works between the 19th and the 20th century.

Museum Enzo Ferrari

Inaugurated on 10 March 2012, the museum complex includes Enzo Ferrari's birthplace and a futuristic automotive design gallery, painted in the yellow that Enzo Ferrari chose as the background for the Prancing horse on his logo. The exhibition gallery was designed by the famous architect Jan Kaplický, who suddenly died in 2009, and carried on by his associate and loyal assistant Andrea Morgante.

The interior features a multimedia display of pictures, unpublished films and precious mementoes of Enzo Ferrari's life as a man, driver and car-maker throughout the 20th century.

The Exhibition Gallery houses a flexible mounting representing story, figures, places and races of the Modenese sport motor racing.

Museum of Collectible Cards

Founded in 1986 by Giuseppe Panini, who then decided to donate his collection to the city, the Museo della figurina was opened to the public on 15 December 2006. It is located inside the Santa Margherita Palace, which also houses the Delfini Library and the City Gallery.

The Museum houses several collections, including, apart from the classic stickers, cigarette cards, letter seals, matchboxes and calendars, all of which represent a very important historical document of the development of picture cards throughout the years.

Teatro Comunale Modena

The Teatro Comunale Modena (Community Theatre of Modena, but renamed in October 2007 as "Teatro Comunale Luciano Pavarotti") is an opera house in Modena. The idea for the creation of the present theatre dates from 1838, when it became apparent that the then-existing Teatro Comunale di via Emilia (in dual private and public ownership) was no longer suitable for staging opera. However, this house had been the venue for presentations of all of the works of Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini up to this time, and a flourishing operatic culture existed in Modena.

Under the Mayor of Modena in collaboration with the Conservatorio dell'Illustrissima Comunità (Conservatory of the Most Illustrious Community), architect Francesco Vandelli was engaged to design the Teatro dell'Illustrissima Comunità, as the theatre was first called, "for the dignity of the city and for the transmission of the scenic arts". Paid for in the manner typical of the time – from the sale of boxes – in addition to a significant gift from Duke Friedrich IV, Vandelli created a design for the new theatre combining ideas from those in Piacenza, Mantua, and Milan, and it opened on 2 October 1841 with a performance of Gandini's Adelaide di Borgogna al Castello di Canossa, an opera specially commissioned for the occasion.

Cuisine

right|thumb|Cotechino Modena, as served with [[polenta and lentils]]

Modena has a rich and diversified cuisine, often including meats, hams and salamis. One of the most famous modenese dishes is zampone (the fatter and heartier version) or cotechino Modena (cotechino is leaner and less fat than zampone). Cotechino dates back to around 1511 to Mirandola, where, whilst besieged, the people had to find a way to preserve meat and use the less tender cuts, so made the cotechino. By the 18th century it had become more popular than the yellowish sausage had been around at the time, and in the 19th century was in mass production in and around the area.

Modena's contribution to the Italian pasta culture are tortellini and tortelloni, which are squares of pasta shaped in the form of a ring and stuffed with meat or cheese.

Cappello del prete is also a popular meal, which is a very fatty pig's trotter. Other dishes include torta Barozzi or torta nera, which is a black tart (a dessert made with a coffee/cocoa and almond filling encased in a fine pastry dough), ciccioli, made by slowly cooking, compressing, drying, and aging fatty, leftover pieces of pork, and pesto modenese, which is cured pork back fat pounded with garlic, rosemary and Parmesan, used to fill borlenghi and crescentine.

Balsamic vinegar of Modena became a protected geographical indication under EU law in 2000. The Balsamic Vinegar is a condiment for salad, cheese, strawberries and many other dishes. The practice of cooking the must of grapes can be traced back to the ancient Romans: the so-called sapum was used both as a medicinal product and in the kitchen as a sweetener and condiment. The long history of the Balsamic Vinegar came to us through centuries and now is most consumed abroad than in Italy.

Modena contains Italy's most acclaimed restaurant, Osteria Francescana, which holds three stars in the Michelin Guide since 2013 and, as of 2018, has been named as the best restaurant in the world in The World's 50 Best Restaurants.

Arts

Art studio fuse* is based in Modena.

Economy

thumb|A [[Maserati GranTurismo#GranCabrio I (2010–2019)|Maserati GranCabrio MC]]

Modena and its province is one of Italy's most affluent areas, thanks to a rich agriculture and numerous small and medium manufacturing enterprises. Among the largest employers are BPER Banca, the publishing company Panini Group; Cremonini Group, one of Europe's largest meat packaging and catering companies; Grandi Salumifici Italiani and Parmareggio, Gruppo Fini other large food processing companies; Liu Jo, a large clothing company.

Automotive industry

Modena alongside Turin, are among Italy's main centres of the automotive industry, having a rich history and tradition in this field. The iconic Ferrari brand was founded in Modena by Modenese legendary car tycoon Enzo Ferrari, and today is headquartered just outside the city, in the suburb of Maranello. Several other Italian luxury automobile manufacturers such as Pagani and Maserati are headquartered in the Modena area. The electric motorcycle maker Energica Motor Company is headquartered in the city.

Carrozzeria Autodromo Modena, originally a maker of racing cars, which later became one of the best-known bus manufacturers in Italy, was based in Modena and in business from 1949 to 2004.

Notable people

Vittorio Bellentani (1906–1968), engineer and racing driver
Aaron Berechiah of Modena (1549–1639), Jewish kabbalist and author
Maurizio Ceresoli (born 1983), racing driver
Giuseppe Castagnetti (1909–1965), Roman Catholic politician
Abraham ben Daniel (1511-1578), poet and rabbi
Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), founder of Ferrari
Mirella Freni (1935–2020), operatic soprano
Francesco Guccini (born 1940), singer and songwriter
Stefano Modena (born 1963), racing driver
Luciano Pavarotti (1935–2007), operatic tenor
Abraham Rovigo (1650–1713), Jewish kabbalist, rabbi, and scholar.
Sergio Sighinolfi (1925–1956), racing driver

Transport

Rail

Modena railway station, opened in 1859, forms part of the Milan–Bologna railway, and is also a terminus of two secondary railways, linking Modena with each of Verona and Sassuolo.

Urban transport

Modena's urban public transport network is operated by SETA. The network includes the Modena trolleybus system.

Sport

thumb|200px|The Stadio Alberto Braglia, home of Modena FC

Modena has a strong sporting tradition, linked mainly to motor racing as the birthplace of Enzo Ferrari, founder of the eponymous motor racing team and car manufacturer based in nearby Maranello. The Ferrari 360 Modena was named after the city. Modena is known as the world's 'Supercar Capital', being the nearest large town to the homes of Maserati, Lamborghini, Pagani and previously also Ducati and De Tomaso.

The city has had two major football clubs: Modena F.C., who played in Serie B for many years but was dissolved in 2017, and Serie B team Carpi F.C. 1909. In 2018, Modena F.C. was reincarnated as Modena F.C. 2018 who play at the 21,151-seat Stadio Alberto Braglia, the former home of Modena F.C. which has also hosted international rugby union.

Volleyball plays an important role in Modena's sport history, with Modena Volley having won 12 National championships, four Champion's League seasons, and other trophies.

There is also a baseball club with 50 years' tradition—the Modena BBC, currently playing in the A-Series of the Italian Baseball League.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Modena is twinned with:

Almaty, Kazakhstan
Benxi, China
Highland Park, Illinois, United States
Linz, Austria
Londrina, Brazil
Novi Sad, Serbia
Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States