Modena City Highlights Self-Guided Walking Tour

Modena is the city sophisticated Italians whisper about while everyone else queues in Florence. This 24-stop self-guided audio walking tour reveals the quietly brilliant Emilia-Romagna capital of Art, Food and Cars. Start beside the five-domed WWI Tempio, then visit Enzo Ferrari's birthplace beneath a vast yellow roof hand-fitted by naval shipbuilders. Wander the 17th-century Este garden, porticoed boulevards built over vanished medieval canals, and the Pavarotti-Freni opera house, hometown stage of two voices raised by the same wet nurse. Stand before Modena's UNESCO trio: the 1099 Cathedral by Lanfranco and Wiligelmo, the 86-meter leaning Ghirlandina hiding a stolen 1325 bucket, and Piazza Grande with its attic balsamic acetaia and medieval Stone of Shame. Find King Arthur carved before the legend was written. Step inside the 1873 post-ghetto synagogue and the 983 AD Benedictine Abbey of San Pietro with Begarelli's terracotta saints. Taste real Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale, Parmigiano Reggiano and tortellini at the Mercato Albinelli, where Bottura's suppliers work. End at the Galleria Estense with Velazquez, Bernini, El Greco, and the Borso d'Este Bible.