Modena Audio Tours

Modena is one of those Italian cities where the concentration of extraordinary things per square kilometer becomes almost absurd. The Romanesque cathedral on Piazza Grande, begun in 1099 to designs attributed to the architect Lanfranco and with sculptural cycles by the master Wiligelmo, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the supreme achievements of medieval European architecture. The Torre Ghirlandina beside it, leaning slightly like a more provincial Pisa, can be climbed for views over the terracotta rooftops of the Po Plain. Every element of this central square has remained essentially unchanged for nine centuries.

Then there is the food: traditional balsamic vinegar from Modena, aged for a minimum of 12 or 25 years in a series of progressively smaller barrels of different woods, is a world apart from the commercial product sold under the same name.

Producers in the hills and farmhouses around the city open their acetaie for tastings of vinegar so thick and complex it is consumed by the teaspoon. Ferrari was founded in Maranello, 18 kilometers south, and the Ferrari Museum there is the obligatory pilgrimage for anyone who cares about the car. Luciano Pavarotti was born in Modena in 1935 and his grave in the cemetery at Montale Rangone draws visitors from around the world, while his former house outside the city is open as a museum.