Modena ( ; Mòdna in
Modenese dialect) 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 Italy
.
An ancient
town, it is the seat of an archbishop,
but is now best known as "the capital of engines", since the
factories of the famous Italian sports
car makers Ferrari
, De Tomaso, Lamborghini,
Pagani and Maserati
are, or
were, located here and all, except Lamborghini, have headquarters
in the city or nearby. Lamborghini is headquartered not far away in
Sant'Agata
Bolognese
, in the adjacent Province of Bologna. One of
Ferrari's cars, the
360 Modena, was
named after the town itself. Also, one of the colors for Ferraris
is
Modena yellow.
The
University of Modena,
founded in 1175 and expanded by
Francesco II d'Este in 1686, has
traditional strengths in Economics, Medicine and Law and is the
second oldest Atheneum in Italy, sixth in the whole world. Italian
officers are trained at the Italian Military Academy, located in
Modena, and partly housed in the Baroque ducal palace. The
Biblioteca Estense houses historical volumes and 3,000
manuscripts.
Modena is well known in culinary circles for its production of
balsamic vinegar.
Famous
Modenesi include Mary of
Modena, the Queen consort of
England; operatic tenor Luciano
Pavarotti (1935-2007) and soprano Mirella Freni, born in Modena itself; Enzo Ferrari (1898 – 1988) eponymous founder of
the Ferrari motor
company; the Catholic Priest and Senior Exorcist of Vatican
Gabriele Amorth; and the rock singer
Vasco Rossi who was born in Zocca
, one of the
47 comuni in the Province of Modena.
Geography
Modena
lies on the Pianura Padana, and is
bounded by the two rivers Secchia
and Panaro
, both
affluents of the Po
River
. Their presence is symbolized by the Two
Rivers Fountain in the city's center, by Giuseppe Graziosi. The
city is connected to the Panaro by the Naviglio channel.
The Apennines ranges begin some 10 km from the city, to the
south.
The commune is divided into four
circoscrizioni. These
are:
- Centro storico (Historical Center, San Cataldo)
- Crocetta (San Lazzaro-East Modena, Crocetta)
- Buon Pastore (Buon Pastore, Sant'Agnese, San Damaso)
- San Faustino (S.Faustino-Saliceta San Giuliano,
Madonnina-Quattro Ville)
Under the
Köppen
climate classification Modena is usually classified as having a
Humid subtropical climate
(Cfa). It experiences hot, humid summers with little rainfall and
cold, damp winters.
History
Ancient times
The
territory around Modena (Latin: Mutina, Etruscan:
Muoina) 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
.
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 (a populist leader, not to be confused with his
son, Caesar's most well known assassin).
The city eventually
surrendered out of hunger, and Brutus fled, only to be slain in
Regium
Lepidi
. In the civil war following Caesar's
assassination, the city was besieged once again, this time by
Mark Antony, in 44 BC, and defended by
Decimus Junius Brutus.
Octavian relieved the city with the help of the
Senate.
Cicero called it
Mutina
splendidissima ("most beautiful Mutina") in his Philippics (44
BC). Until the 3rd century AD, it kept its position as the most
important city in the newly formed
Aemilia,
but the fall of the Empire brought Mutina down with it, as it was
used as a military base both against the barbarians and in the
civil wars. It is said that Mutina was never sacked by Attila, for
a dense fog hid it (a miracle said to be provided by
Saint Geminianus, bishop and patron of
Modena), but it was eventually buried by a great flood in the 7th
century and abandoned.
As of December, 2008, Italian researchers have discovered the
pottery center where the oil lamps that lit the ancient Roman
empire were made. Evidence of the pottery workshops emerged in
Modena, in central-northern Italy, during construction work to
build a residential complex near the ancient walls of the city. "We
found a large ancient Roman dumping filled with pottery scraps.
There were vases, bottles, bricks, but most of all, hundreds of oil
lamps, each bearing their maker's name," Donato Labate, the
archaeologist in charge of the dig, stated.
Middle Ages
Its exiles
founded a new city a few miles to the northwest, still represented
by the village of Cittanova
(literally "new city"). About the end of the
9th century, Modena was restored and refortified by its bishop,
Ludovicus. At about this
time the
Song of the
Watchmen of Modena was composed. Later the city was part
of the possessions of the Countess
Matilda of Tuscany, becoming a free
commune starting from the 12th
century. In the wars between
Emperor Frederick II and
Pope Gregory IX Modena sided with
the emperor.
The
Este family were identified as lords of
Modena from 1288 (
Obizzo d'Este).
After the death of Obizzo's successor (
Azzo
VIII, in 1308) the commune reasserted itself, but by 1336 the
Este family was permanently in power. Under
Borso d'Este Modena was made a duchy.
Modern age
Enlarged
and fortified by Ercole II, it was made the primary ducal residence
when Ferrara
, the main Este seat, fell to the Pope in
1598. Francesco I d'Este (1629-1658) built the citadel and
began the palace, which was largely embellished by Francesco II. In
the 18th century,
Rinaldo d'Este was
twice driven from his city by French invasions, and
Francesco III built many of Modena's
public buildings, but the Este pictures were sold and many of them
wound up in Dresden.
Ercole III
died in exile at Treviso, having refused Napoleonic offers of
compensation when Modena was made part of the Napoleonic Cispadane
Republic
. His only daughter, Maria Beatrice d'Este,
married Ferdinand of Austria, son of
Maria Theresa, and in 1814 their
eldest son,
Francesco IV,
received back the estates of the Este. Quickly, in 1816, he
dismantled the fortifications that might well have been used
against him and began Modena's years under Austrian rule,
reactionary and despotic, using the Austrian army to put down a
rebellion in 1830. His equally reactionary son,
Francesco V, was temporarily
expelled from Modena in the European
Revolution of 1848, but was restored by
Austrian troops. Ten years later, on August 20, 1859, the
representatives of Modena declared their territory part of the
Kingdom of Italy, a decision
that was confirmed by the plebiscite of 1860.
Façade of the Cathedral.
Interior of the Cathedral.
Piazza Grande, with the Cathedral and
the Communal Palace.
The Baroque Ducal Palace (now a
military academy).
Main sights
The Cathedral and the Ghirlandina
The
Cathedral of
Modena
and the annexed campanile are a UNESCO
World Heritage Site. Begun under
the direction of the Countess
Matilda
of Tuscany with its first stone laid June 6, 1099 and its crypt
ready for the city's patron,
Saint
Geminianus, and consecrated only six years later, the Duomo of
Modena was finished in 1184. The building of a great cathedral in
this flood-prone ravaged former center of
Arianism was an act of
urban renewal in itself, and an expression of
the flood of piety that motivated the contemporary
First Crusade.
Unusually, the master builder's name,
Lanfranco, was celebrated in his own day: the city's chronicler
expressed the popular confidence in the master-mason from Como
, Lanfranco:
by God's mercy the man was found (inventus est
vir). The sculptor Wiligelmus who directed the mason's
yard was praised in the plaque that commemorated the founding. The
program of the sculpture is not lost in a welter of detail: the
wild dangerous universe of the exterior is mediated by the Biblical
figures of the portals leading to the Christian world of the
interior. In Wiligelmus' sculpture at Modena, the human body takes
on a renewed physicality it had lost in the schematic symbolic
figures of previous centuries. At the east end, three
apses reflect the division of the body of the cathedral
into nave and wide aisles with their bold, solid masses.
Modena's
Duomo inspired campaigns of cathedral and abbey building in
emulation through the valley of the Po.
The
Gothic campanile (1224-1319) is called Torre della
Ghirlandina
from the bronze garland surrounding the
weathercock.
Ducal Palace
The Ducal Palace, begun by
Francesco
I d'Este in 1634 and finished by
Francis
V, was the seat of the Este court from the 17-19th century. The
palace occupies the site of the former Este Castle, once located in
the periphery of the city. Although generally credited to
Bartolomeo Avanzini, it has been
suggested that advice and guidance in the design process had been
sought from the contemporary luminaries,
Cortona,
Bernini, and
Borromini.
The Palace currently houses the
Accademia Militare di Modena,
the Military Museum and a precious Library.
The Palace has a Baroque façade from which the Honour Court, where
the military ceremonies are held, and the Honour Staircase can be
accessed. The Central Hall has a frescoed ceiling with the 17th
century
Incoronation of Bradamante by
Marco Antonio Franceschini. The
Salottino d'Oro ("Golden Hall"), covered with gilted
removable panels, was used by Duke Francis III as his main cabinet
of work.
Town Hall
Facing the Piazza Grande (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), the Town
Hall of Modena was put together in the 17th-18th centuries from
several pre-existing edifices built from 1046 as municipal
offices.
It is characterized by a Clock Tower (
Torre dell'Orologio,
late 15th century), once paired with another tower (
Torre
Civica) demolished after an earthquake in 1671. In the
interior, noteworthy is the
Sala del Fuoco ("Fire Hall"),
with a painted frieze by Niccolò dell'Abate (1546) portraying
famous characters from Ancient Rome against a typical Emilia
background.
The Camerino dei Confirmati
("Chamber of the Confirmed") houses one of the symbols of the city,
the Secchia Rapita, a bucket kept in memory of the
victorious Battle of Zappolino
(1325) against Bologna
. This relic inspired the poem of the same
title by
Alessandro Tassoni.
Another relic from the Middle Ages in Modena is the
Preda
Ringadora, a rectangular marble stone next to the palace
porch, used as a speakers' platform, and the statue called
La
Bonissima ("The Very Good"): the latter, portraying a female
figure, was erected in the square in 1268 and later installed over
the porch.
Museum Palace
The Palace Museum, 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:
Other churches
- San Vincenzo was erected in the 17th century over a
church known from the 13th century. The works were begun by
Paolo Reggiano, who was followed by
Bernardo Castagnini, probably
helped by the young Guarino Guarini.
The interior contains frescoes by Sigismondo Caula portraying
episodes of the life of Saint
Vincent and Saint Cajetan. The
dome was destroyed during World War II. This church houses the
funerary monuments of the Este Dukes.
- Santa Maria della Pomposa (also known as Aedes
Muratoriana) is probably the most ancient religious edifice,
being mentioned as early as 1135. Little remains of the original
Middle Ages temple can be seen. The church is mainly linked to
Ludovico Antonio Muratori,
who was its parish priest from 1716 to 1750 and rebuilt it almost
from scratch.
- The church of San Giovanni Decollato ("St. John
Baptist Beheaded") was built in the 16th century over a
pre-existing temple dedicated to St. Michael, and modified in the
18th century.
- The church of St. Augustine was built in the 14th
century, but largely renovated for the funerals of Alfonso IV d'Este in 1663. The sober
original structure has now 17th stuccoes and a panelled ceiling.
The most notable artwork is the Deposition (1476) by the
Modenese Antonio Begarelli, once
in the church of St. John the Baptist. Traces of a 14th century
fresco by Tommaso da Modena can
still be seen.
- The church of St. Francis was built by the Franciscans from 1244, and finished after more
than two centuries. A sober Gothic-style edifice, it houses one of
Begarelli's masterworks, a Deposition
of Christ made up of thirteen statues.
Modena Synagogue
- The church of St. Peter was erected, according to tradition,
over the temple of Jupiter Capitulinus. The current edifice is from
1476, built next to a Benedictine abbey founded in 996 oustide the
city walls, and is one of the few Renaissance architecture in
Modena. The interior has a precious 15th century organ and numerous
terracotta works by Begarelli. The campanile is from 1629.
- The church of St. George is also known as the Sanctuary of the
Blessed Virgin Helper of the Modenese People, who boasts a
venerated image over the high altar. The latter is a work in
polychrome marbles by Antonio
Loraghi (1666). The church has a Greek plan and was constructed
from 1647.
Synagogue
Other points of interest
Culture
Teatro Comunale Modena
- See Teatro Comunale
Modena, Modena's opera house which dates from 1841, for full
article
Economy
Panini Group, including
Panini Comics, is headquartered in
Modena.
Demographics
In 2007, there were 179,937 people residing in Modena located in
the province of Modena,
Emilia-Romagna, of whom 48.1% were male and
51.9% were female. Minors (children ages 18 and younger) totalled
16.20 percent of the population compared to pensioners who number
22.54 percent. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06
percent (minors) and 19.94 percent (pensioners). The average age of
Modena resident is 44 compared to the Italian average of 42.
In the
five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Modena
experienced 2.42% growth, while Italy as a whole
grew by 3.56 percent.[9836][9837] The current birth rate of Modena is 9.62 births
per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45
births.
As of 2006, 89.61% of the population was
Italian.
The largest foreign group comes from other
parts of Europe (namely Romania
and Albania
): 3.94%, followed by North
Africa: 2.40%, and sub-saharan
Africa: 1.94%. Approximately 1 in 5 newborns in Modena
has a least one parent of foreign origins.
[9838]
Sport
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 which is based in nearby Maranello
. The
Ferrari 360
Modena was named after the city.
Indeed, Modena is
known as the World's 'Supercar Capital', being the nearest large
town to the homes of Maserati, Lamborghini, Pagani and previously also Bugatti
and De Tomaso. The
city's football club,
Modena F.C., plays
in
Serie B, the Italian second division.
Volleyball plays an important role in
Modena's sport history, with
Panini
Modena club having won 11 National championships, 4 Champion's
League seasons and a handful of other trophies.
Partner cities
See also
References
- " Corporate Info." Panini Group. Retrieved on 5 September
2009.
External links
, one of the most important libraries in
Italy.
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