Modena
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Modena is a city and a 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.
