Ancient university centre and for several centuries home for the dukedom of the Este Family, Modena is situated inside a cultural and historical high level overview. Let's discover it together...

Beside Bologna and Reggio Emilia, Modena is par excellence a must in the motors'field, with an extraordinary range of productions: from the agricultural machines to the sports cars, from motorcycle to ground machines, from alternate pumps to oil-pressure accessories. Amid the above mentioned activities, stands out the worldwide famous Ferrari House, from its founding father's name Enzo Ferrari (1898-1988), who once established its head office and roots in Modena, before transferring at Maranello in 1943. During the post-war period the Company started to produce the first sporting cars models, whose repetitive success is well known thanks to the many world titles they achieved and that's how the myth was made.

Modena occupies centre stage in the culinary art. It is located in a lucky area of the Pianura Padana, right where the Parmigiano Reggiano, esteemed as the best cheese in the world, is made. To better describe the typical cooking of Modena, we definetely must quote the Prosciutto di Modena, a delicious dry-cured ham, which receives (as the local people tell us) the "kiss of Cimone" ...a fresh breeze blowing on the homonym mountain, where the ham is brought and left there to mature. During the winter season, but as well enjoyable in the rest of the year, are two special dishes: "lo Zampone", that is the right paw of the pig, filled inside with a kneaded mince and "il Cotechino", a similar preparation, which just differ in the shape. Another characteristic product, with various names identified, is the "Gnocco fritto", a dough of flour, yeast, lard and salt, which is left to rise and then stretched as a sheet of pastry, subdivided into small squares and fried. It is usually appreciated with the local cold cut and it has been the main food of the popular feast for several years, as well as the basic nourishment for farmers. Going further in our culinary tour, we discover the "Crescentina" or "tigella", another kind of dough, typical for being cooked on the stone and tasted with traditional cold cut as well.

Modena is rightly famous for other two products, treasures of tradition: "Aceto Balsamico" and "Lambrusco". The first one is a balsamic vinegar, which can be found in shops in two different versions: the more expensive one is the kind of vinegar producers let becoming old for 25 years or even more, following a traditional process, while the cheaper one is a common seasoning of wine vinegar and must, industrially made. The Lambrusco is amid the most notable sparkling red wines worldwide produced. We quote here the different sorts you can taste: "Lambrusco di Sorbara" (delicate aroma and violet fragrance); "Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro" (higher alcohol content and characteristic red foam) and "Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce". Each one is the right wine to accompany your meal and enjoy it in the best way.

How not to mention the best liqueurs of this city: "Sassolino" with an intense anise taste, prevalent in the area around Sassuolo, by which it takes the name; "Nocino" a well known infusion of alcohol and walnut, frequently suggested for its digestive properties as well as for a strong but pleasant taste.

In order to end our tour around Modena in a very nicely way, let's talk about sweetness. There is plenty of cakes and desserts and are all worth to be reminded. Our advices: "Bensone" a typical sweet oven-baked bread, perfect to be dipped into a red wine glass; "Amaretto", a soft cake basically composed of almonds and sugar; the famous "Barozzi cake" first time created in the XIX century by the pastry chef Eugenio Gollini of Vignola. It was then given the name of the notable fellow citizen Jacopo Barozzi and by then produced according to a secret recipy.