Explorer Modène

Modena Cathedral was begun in 1099 by the architect Lanfranco over the tomb of Saint Geminianus, the city's patron, and consecrated in 1184. Reliefs by the sculptor Wiligelmo, among them scenes from Genesis, decorate its facade, and the saint's remains lie in the crypt. With the Ghirlandina tower and Piazza Grande it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Torre della Ghirlandina is the 86-metre bell tower of Modena Cathedral, raised from the 12th century and finished in 1319 with an octagonal Gothic spire by Arrigo da Campione. The city kept records and trophies inside, including a copy of the Secchia rapita, a wooden bucket seized from Bologna in 1325. Visitors climb about 200 steps to the Sala dei Torresani.

The Ducal Palace of Modena was begun around 1630 for Duke Francesco I d'Este on the site of the Este castle, mainly to designs by Bartolomeo Avanzini, and was the seat of the Este court until 1859. It now houses the Italian Military Academy, so the interior, including the Salone d'Onore and the state apartment, is shown only on booked guided tours at weekends.

The Galleria Estense is the art collection of the Este dukes, shown on the top floor of the Palazzo dei Musei in Modena. Opened to the public in 1854 by Duke Francis V and moved here in 1894, it holds Italian paintings and sculpture, Bernini's bust of Francesco I d'Este, Velázquez's portrait of the same duke and the Estense harp.

The Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena occupies the house and workshop where Enzo Ferrari was born in 1898 and where his father Alfredo ran a mechanical workshop. Beside it, a gallery with a curved yellow roof, designed by Jan Kaplický of Future Systems and opened in 2012, displays Ferrari road and racing cars alongside exhibits on Modena's motoring history.

Casa Museo Luciano Pavarotti is the house the tenor had built in the countryside south of Modena, where he lived his last years and died in 2007. Opened to the public in 2015, its twelve rooms on four floors are kept as he left them, with stage costumes, photographs, letters, awards and his own paintings; an audio guide leads through the house.