page_title: Modena
section_title: Cuisine
hierarchical_section_title: Modena / Culture / Cuisine
caption_attribution_description: A Cotechino Modena, sliced, ready to serve with Polenta, and Lentils in sauce, as popularly served in Italy, especially around the New Year.
context_page_description: Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy.
  A town, and seat of an archbishop, it is known for its car industry since the factories of the famous Italian upper-class 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. One of Ferrari's cars, the 360 Modena, was named after the town itself.
  The University of Modena, founded in 1175 and expanded by Francesco II d'Este in 1686, focuses on economics, medicine and law, and is the second oldest athenaeum in Italy. Italian military officers are trained at the Military Academy of Modena, and partly housed in the Baroque Ducal Palace. The Biblioteca Estense houses historical volumes and 3,000 manuscripts. The Cathedral of Modena, the Torre della Ghirlandina and Piazza Grande are a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.
  Modena is also known in culinary circles for its production of balsamic vinegar.
context_section_description: Modena has a rich and diversified cuisine, often including meats, hams and salamis. One of the most famous Modenese dishes is "zampone" (the fatter and heartier version) or "cotechino modena" (cotechino is leaner and less fat than zampone). Cotechino dates back to around 1511 to Mirandola, where, whilst besieged, the people had to find a way to preserve meat and use the less tender cuts, so made the cotechino. By the 18th century it had become more popular than the yellowish sausage had been around at the time, and in the 19th century was in mass production in and around the area.
  Modena's contribution to the Italian pasta culture are tortellini and tortelloni which are squares of pasta shaped in the form of a ring and stuffed with meat or cheese.
  "Cappello da prete" is also a popular meal, which is a very fatty pig's trotter. Other dishes include "Torta Barozzi" or "Torta Nera", which is a black tart (a dessert made with a coffee/cocoa and almond filling encased in a fine pastry dough), "Ciccioli", made by slowly cooking, compressing, drying, and aging fatty, leftover pieces of pork, and "Pesto modenese", which is cured pork back fat pounded with garlic, rosemary and Parmigiano-Reggiano used to fill borlenghi and crescentine.
  Balsamic vinegar of Modena became a protected geographical indication under EU law in 2000. The vinegar is a condiment for salad, cheese, strawberries and many other dishes. The practice of cooking the must of grapes can be traced back to the ancient Romans: the so-called sapum was used both as a medicinal product and in the kitchen as a sweetener and condiment.
  Modena contains Italy's most acclaimed restaurant, Osteria Francescana, which holds three stars in the Michelin Guide since 2013 and, as of 2018, has been named as the best restaurant in the world in The World's 50 Best Restaurants.
caption: "Cotechino Modena", as served with polenta and lentils.
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