Modena is a city and a comune (municipality) on the south side of the Po valley, in the Emilia-Romagna region. The city of Modena is the capital of one of the Emilia-Romagna region provinces.
Modena lies on the Pianura Padana, and is bounded by the two rivers Secchia and Panaro, both affluents of the Po River.The comune is divided into four circoscrizioni. These 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)
The city enjoys a strategic position as it is located at the intersection of the two most important Italian highways: the Autostrada del Sole, connecting Italy North to South, and the Autostrada del Brennero, connecting Italy with Northern Europe.
Climate
The prevailing climate of the province of Modena resembles both the continental climate of central Europe, with its broad temperature ranges, and the typical climate of Mediterranean regions, with their springtime and autumnal precipitations and long summer droughts.
In particular, during the period from autumn to spring there is widespread, persistent rainfall when low pressure originating over the Mediterranean moves up towards the middle and northern end of the Adriatic, whereas anticyclone conditions foster stagnation on the ground and cause the frequent formation of fog, which is typical of the Po Valley. During the summer, the effect of the anticyclone of the Azores or the subtropical anticyclone is to produce many sunny days, but the particular morphology of the Po Valley causes a progressive increase, in the summer months, in relative humidity, which favours conditions of sultry heat. Average temperatures are 0/+17°C winter and +18/+33°C in summer.
Population
Modena has an area of 2,689 km², and a population of 180,325. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Modena experienced 2.42% growth. As of 2006, 89.61% of the population was Italian. The largest foreign group comes from other parts of Europe (namely Romania and Albania): 3.94%, followed by North Africa: 2.40%, and sub-saharan Africa: 1.94%. Approximately 1 in 5 newborns in Modena has a least one parent of foreign origins.
