THE HISTORY
Modena lies in the region of Emilia-Romagna. The name Emilia-Romagna comes from the Roman history. Emilia derives from the name of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus under whose consulate the road via Emilia was built between Piacenza and Rimini. Romagna remembers the division of the territory in the VI
century: on the one hand, the north-east area - the land of Lombards (Longobardia); on the other hand, the south-east area - the land of Romans (Romania). The official name was defined in 1947 with the today’s name Emilia Romagna.
The region borders Veneto and Lombardy to the North, Piedmont and Liguria to the West, Tuscany, Marches and the Republic of San Marino to the South. To the East it is washed by the Adriatic Sea.
The provinces of the region are nine: Bologna, which is also the regional capital, Ferrara, Forlì, Modena, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Ravenna, and Rimini
Modena was founded in the 3rd century B.C. by the Celts and later, as part of the Roman Empire, it became an important agricultural centre along the roman Emilia road (Via Emilia).
After the barbarian invasions of the 5th and 4th centuries, the town resumed the commercial activities and, in the 9th century, it was possible for it to build the first circle of walls, which would mark its development throughout the Middle Ages, until its transformation into a Libero Comune (free municipality).
After the short Mantuan domination in 1289, Modena went back under the dominion of the Dukes from the House of Este in 1336, who kept on governing it until 1796. These years were a period of splendour for the town, and the urban complex extended. It was in this period when the streets of the historical town centre were laid-out, according to the “chessboard model”, coming from the nearby town of Ferrara.
In 1598 Modena became capital of the Este Dukedom and was embellished by numerous religious and civilian buildings, which gave a majestic and solemn look to the town. In the 19th century, the Auster-Este dynasty devoted itself to the town’s modernization, which underwent a complete change of its layout, through the demolition of the walls, then substituted by the today still existing wooded ring road.
Today Modena is an active industrial, agricultural and commercial centre in constant expansion and is
known all over the world for its car industry, thanks to Ferrari and Maserati, which has their seats in Maranello (20 km far from Modena) and in Modena, respectively.
