Modena
UNESCO World Heritage Site (Cathedral, Torre Civica And Piazza Grande, Modena, Inscribed 1997), A Cathedral Begun In 1099 And Signed By The Architect Lanfranco And The Sculptor Wiligelmo · Modena, Emilia-Romagna
A small rich city on the Emilian plain that exports three things the world knows and does not associate with each other: balsamic vinegar, Ferrari, and Pavarotti. The UNESCO part is older and quieter than any of them. The cathedral was begun in 1099 by an architect and a sculptor who both signed their work, which almost nobody did then, and Wiligelmo's relief panels across the front are among the first serious figure sculpture in Europe after the classical world stopped. Beside it stands the Ghirlandina, a leaning bell tower the city has always been proud of. Real balsamic is made here in attic barrel sets over twelve or twenty-five years and has nothing to do with the thin brown stuff sold abroad under the same name; the producers will show you, by appointment. Ferrari is at Maranello twenty minutes away, and the Pavarotti house is a museum on the edge of town. Book an acetaia before you travel; they are family attics working by appointment, not visitor centres you can walk into.
Corso Duomo 8, Modena, Emilia-Romagna, 41121, Italy
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The structure: the cathedral opens daily and free with a midday interval, closing for services. The Ghirlandina opens on limited days and seasonal hours. The Galleria Estense closes one day a week and is on the state free first Sunday scheme. The Mercato Albinelli runs MORNINGS ONLY, Monday to Saturday. ACETAIE ARE BY APPOINTMENT, usually weekday mornings. The Ferrari museums open daily on timed tickets. Piazza Grande never closes. Book the acetaia first.