Modena

**Modena** (; Etruscan: *Mutna*; ; Modenese: *Mòdna*) is a ceety an *[[comune]]* (municipality) on the sooth side o the Pianura Padana, in the Province o Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region o Italy.

A auncient toun, it is the seat o an airchbishop, but is nou best ken as "the caipital o engines", syne the factories o the famous Italian sports caur makers Ferrari, De Tomaso, Lamborghini, Pagani an Maserati are, or wur, locatit here an aw, except Lamborghini, hae heidquarters in the ceety or nearbi. Lamborghini is heidquartered no far awa in Sant'Agata Bolognese, in the adjacent Province o Bologna. Ane o Ferrari's cars, the 360 Modena, wis namit efter the ceety itsel. An aw, ane o the colors for Ferraris is *Modena yellae*.

## Geografie
Modena leees on the Pianura Padana, an is boondit bi the twa rivers Secchia an Panaro, baith affluents o the Po River. Thair presence is seembolisit bi the Twa Rivers Foontain in the ceety's centre, bi Giuseppe Graziosi. The ceety is connectit tae the Panaro bi the Naviglio channel.

The Apennines ranges begin some  frae the ceety, tae the sooth.

The commune is dividit intae fower *circoscrizioni*. Thir are:
*Centro storico (Historical Center, San Cataldo)
*Crocetta (San Lazzaro-East Modena, Crocetta)
*Buon Pastore (Buon Pastore, Sant'Agnese, San Damaso)
*San Faustino (S.Faustino-Saliceta San Giuliano, Madonnina-Quattro Ville)

Modena haes a temperate climate. It experiences het, humid simmers wi little rainfaw an cauld, damp winters.

## Municipal admeenistration

### Ceety govrenment
Frae 1945 tae 1992, Modena haed a uninterruptit consecutive series o Communist mayors. Frae the 1990s, the ceety haes been govrened bi center-left coalitions. At the Apryle 2006 elections, the ceety o Modena gae aboot 50% o its votes tae the Democratic Pairty.

The legislative bouk o the municipality (*[[comune]]*) is the Ceety Cooncil (*Consiglio Comunale*) which is componit bi 35 members electit ivery five years. Modena's executive bouk is the Ceety Committee (*Giunta Comunale*) componit bi 9 assessors, the deputy-mayor an the mayor. The current mayor o Modena is Giancarlo Muzzarelli, member o the Democratic Pairty o Italy.

## History

### Auncient times

The territory aroond Modena (Laitin: *Mutina*, Etruscan: *Mutna*) wis inhabitit bi the Villanovans in the Airn Age, an later bi Ligurie tribes, Etruscans, an the Gaulish Boii (the dounset itsel bein Etruscan). Awtho the exact date o its foondation is unkent, it is kent that it wis awready in existence in the 3rd hunderyear BC, for in 218 BC, durin Hannibal's invasion o Italy, the Boii revoltit an laid siege tae the ceety. Livy describit it as a fortifee'd citadel whaur Roman magistrates teuk shelter. The ootcome o the siege is no kent, but the ceety wis maist likely abandoned efter Hannibal's arrival. Mutina wis refoondit as a Roman colony in 183 BC, tae be uised as a militar base bi Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, causin the Liguries tae sack it in 177 BC. Nanetheless, it wis rebuilt, an quickly became the maist important centre in Cisalpine Gaul, baith acause o its strategic importance an acause it wis on a important crossroads atween Via Aemilia an the road goin tae Verona.

In the 1st hunderyear BC Mutina wis besiegit twice. The first siege wis bi Pompey in 78 BC, when Mutina wis defendit bi Marcus Junius Brutus (a populist leader, no tae be ramfeeselt wi his son, Caesar's best kent assassin). The ceety eventually surrendered oot o hunger, an Brutus fled, anerly tae be slain in Regium Lepidi. In the ceevil war follaein Caesar's assassination, the ceety wis besiegit ance again, this time bi Mark Antony, in 44 BC, an defendit bi Decimus Junius Brutus. Octavian relievit the ceety wi the help o the Senate.

Cicero cried it *Mutina splendidissima* ("maist beautiful Mutina") in his Philippics (44 BC). Till the 3rd hunderyear AD, it kept its poseetion as the maist important ceety in the newly shapit Aemilia province, but the faw o the Empire brocht Mutina doun wi it, as it wis uised as a militar base baith against the barbarians an in the ceevil wars. It is said that Mutina wis niver sackit bi Attila, for a dense fog hid it (a miracle said tae be providit bi Saint Geminianus, bishop an patron o Modena), but it wis eventually buriet bi a great fluid in the 7t hunderyear an abandoned.

### Middle Ages
Its exiles foondit a new ceety a few miles tae the northwast, still representit bi the veelage o Cittanova (leeterally "new ceety"). Aboot the end o the 9t hunderyear, Modena wis restored an refortifee'd bi its bishop, Ludovicus. At aboot this time the *[[Song of the Watchmen of Modena]]* wis componit. Later the ceety wis pairt o the possessions o the Coontess Matilda o Tuscany, becomin a free comune stairtin frae the 12t hunderyear. In the wars atween Emperor Frederick II an Pape Gregory IX Modena sidit wi the emperor.

The Este faimily wur identifee'd as lairds o Modena frae 1288 (Obizzo d'Este). Efter the daith o Obizzo's successor (Azzo VIII, in 1308) the comune reassertit itsel, but bi 1336 the Este faimily wis permanently in pouer. Unner Borso d'Este Modena wis made a duchy.

### Modren age
Enlairgit an fortifee'd bi Ercole II, it wis made the primar ducal residence when Ferrara, the main Este seat, fell tae the Pape in 1598. Francesco I d'Este, Duke o Modena (1629–1658) biggit the citadel an began the palace, which wis lairgely embellished bi Francesco II. In the 18t hunderyear, Rinaldo d'Este wis twice driven frae his ceety bi French invasions, an Francesco III  biggit mony o Modena's public buildings, but the Este picturs wur sauld an mony o thaim woond up in Dresden. Ercole III dee'd in exile at Treviso, haein refused Napoleonic affers o compensation when Modena wis made pairt o the Napoleonic Cispadane Republic. His anerly dochter, Maria Beatrice d'Este, marriet Ferdinand I, Archduke o Austrick-Este, son o Empress Maria Theresa o Austrick; an in 1814 thair eldest son, Francis IV, receivit back the estates o the Este. Quickly, in 1816, he dismantled the fortifications that micht well hae been uised against him an began Modena's years unner Austrian rule which, despite bein juist, constitutional an fair, nivertheless haed tae face anither foreign-inspired rebellion in 1830, this time happily unsuccessful.

His son Francis V wis a juist ruler an aw an famously tendit the victims o war an cholera wi his awn haund. Housomeivver, he haed tae face yet mair foreign-inspired revolutions an aw an wis temporarily expelled frae Modena in the European Revolutions o 1848. He wis restored, amidst wide popular acclaim, bi Austrian troops. Ten years later, on 20 August 1859, the revolutionars again invadit (this time the Piemontese), annexin Modena intae the revolutionar Savoyard naition o Italy as a territorial pairt o the Kinrick o Italy.

## Main sichts

### The Cathedral an the Ghirlandina
The Cathedral o Modena an the annexed campanile are a UNESCO Warld Heritage Steid. Begun unner the direction o the Coontess Matilda o Tuscany wi its first stane laid 6 Juin 1099 an its crypt ready for the ceety's patron, Saunt Geminianus, an consecratit anerly sax years later, the Duomo o Modena wis feenished in 1184. The biggin o a great cathedral in this fluid-prone ravagit umwhile centre o Arianism wis a act o urban renewal in itsel, an a expression o the fluid o piety that motivatit the contemporar First Crusade. Unuisually, the maister builder's name, Lanfranco, wis celebratit in his awn day: the ceety's chronicler expressed the popular confidence in the maister-mason frae Como, Lanfranco: bi God's mercy the man wis foond (*inventus est vir*). The sculptor Wiligelmus who directit the mason's yard wis praised in the plaque that commemoratit the foondin.  The program o the sculptur is no lost in a welter o detail: the wild dangerous universe o the exterior is mediatit bi the Biblical figurs o the portals leadin tae the Christian warld o the interior. In Wiligelmus' sculptur at Modena, the human bouk taks on a renewed pheesicality it haed lost in the schematic symbolic figurs o previous hunderyears. At the east end, three apses reflect the diveesion o the bouk o the cathedral intae nave an wide aisles wi thair bauld, solit masses. Modena's Duomo inspired campaigns o cathedral an abbey biggin in emulation throu the valley o the Po.

The Gothic campanile (1224–1319) is cried *[[Torre della Ghirlandina]]* frae the bronze garland surroondin the weathercock.

### Ducal Palace

The Ducal Palace, begun bi Francesco I d'Este in 1634 an feenished bi Francis V, wis the seat o the Este court frae the 17t tae 19t hunderyears. The palace occupees the steid o the umwhile Este Castle, ance locatit in the periphery o the ceety. Awtho generally creditit tae Bartolomeo Avanzini, it haes been suggestit that advice an guidance in the design process haed been socht frae the contemporar luminaries, Cortona, Bernini, an Borromini.

The Palace currently hooses the Accademia Militare di Modena, the Militar Museum an a precious librar.

The Palace haes a Baroque façade frae which the Honour Court, whaur the militar ceremonies are held, an the Honour Staircase can be accessed. The Central Haw haes a frescoed ceiling wi the 17t-hunderyear *Incoronation o Bradamante* bi Marco Antonio Franceschini. The *Salottino d'Oro* ("Gowden Haw"), covered wi gilted removable panels, wis uised bi Duke Francis III as his main cabinet o wirk.

### Toun Haw
Facin the Piazza Grande (a UNESCO Warld Heritage Steid), the Toun Haw o Modena wis put thegither in the 17t an 18t hunderyears frae several pre-existin edifices biggit frae 1046 as municipal offices.

It is characterisit bi a Clock Touer (*Torre dell'Orologio*, late 15t hunderyear), ance paired wi anither touer (*Torre Civica*) demolished efter a yirdquauk in 1671. In the interior, notewirthy is the *Sala del Fuoco* ("Fire Hall"), wi a pentit frieze bi Niccolò dell'Abbate (1546) portrayin famous characters frae Auncient Roum against a teepical Emilia backgrund. The *Camerino dei Confirmati* ("Chamber o the Confirmed") hooses ane o the seembols o the ceety, the *Secchia Rapita*, a bucket kept in memory o the victorious Battle o Zappolino (1325) against Bologna. This relic inspired the poem o the same title bi Alessandro Tassoni. Anither relic frae the Middle Ages in Modena is the *Preda Ringadora*, a rectangular marble stane next tae the palace porch, uised as a speakers' platform, an the statue cried *La Bonissima* ("The Vera Guid"): the latter, portrayin a female figur, wis erectit in the square in 1268 an later instawed ower the porch.

## Sport

Modena haes a strang sportin tradeetion, linkit mainly tae motor racin as the birthplace o Enzo Ferrari, foonder o the eponymous motor racin team an caur manufacturer which is based in nearbi Maranello. The Ferrari 360 Modena wis namit efter the ceety. Indeed, Modena is kent as the Warld's 'Supercaur Caipital', bein the nearest lairge toun tae the hames o Maserati, Lamborghini, Pagani an previously Bugatti an De Tomaso an aw.  The ceety's fitbaa club, Modena F.C., play in Serie B, the Italian seicont diveesion. Thay play at the 21,151-seater Stadio Alberto Braglia, which haes hostit internaitional rugby union an aw. Volleybaw plays a important role in Modena's sport history, wi Panini Modena  haein wan 11 Naitional championships, 4 Champion's League saisons an a haundful o ither trophies.

## Internaitional relations

### Twin touns — Sister ceeties
Modena is twinned wi:

### Consulates
* Latvie

## References