Private Modena old town walking tour

Modena cathedral is a Unesco Heritage of humanity since 1997. In Romanesque art, architecture and sculpture reached their highest expression in religious buildings, standing out for their powerful architectural structures and stone decorations that translated the complex spirituality of medieval man into images. The guide will explain both the exterior and the interior of the Cathedral.

From its vantage point looking out onto Piazza Grande, the Palazzo Comunale is actually a series of annexed medieval buildings cloistered within an arcade in the early 1600s. Its unusual attractions depict key points in Modena’s history. First there is a bucket of local lore, plundered by the City of Bologna during the 1325 Battle of Zappolino. As a symbol of civic heroism, the bucket inspired Alessandro Tassoni’s celebrated mock-heroic epic poem, ‘La Secchia Rapita’ (‘The Stolen Bucket’). Inside the palace you'll visit some historical rooms.

Rome architect Bartolomeo Avanzini designed the Palazzo Ducale, which was built from 1634 onwards. The home of the Este Court for more than two centuries, today it is the headquarters of the Italian Military Academy. This will be an external visit.

A UNESCO-heritage site, along with the Cathedral it adjoins and the Piazza Grande it overlooks, the Ghirlandina (or Garland) Tower is so named because of the double twist of balustrades crowning it like a garland. Standing 87 metres (or 285 feet) high this symbol of Modena was completed by the Campionese Masters, who also worked on the later medieval modifications of the Cathedral itself. This will be an external visit.

The Liberty-style market hall in Via Albinelli was created in 1931, to house the stalls that had always been set up around Piazza Grande. The traders of the Mercato Albinelli offer many typical products of Modena region, as well as certified goods.