I spent a week in Modena in June 2019 and did short trips to other interesting places around (Parma, Mantova, Bologna, Ferrara, etc.). Despite warnings and quite low ratings by other travelers, I found Modena very nice town and a good place to stay. Luciano Pavarotti would agree with me. It was very pleasant week in Modena, and I would imagine even living there for some time. The town center is quite compact with picturesque streets, porticoes and ochre facades of houses. The traffic is limited in the center that also helps making Modena good place for living.

The Duomo with Ghirlandina tower and Piazza Grande are situated in very center. The tower can be seen from everywhere and it is the tallest structure in Modena. The Duomo is rather small but it is an exceptional structure, which deserves a status of WHS. I must laugh when reading the comments of some travelers: they know what to expect in Modena, but eventually they were disappointed that it is only/just a church – I cannot understand that. The Duomo has exceptionally rich decoration of exterior with several porticoes flanked by lion statues. There are so many details and exceptionally elaborated features. The interior is darker than shiny exterior. The vaults in aisles and the large rosone in the west wall were modified in 13th century, but it is still very compact structure with fine details from period around 1100.

Other places in Modena are not such exceptional as the cathedral is: Piazza Roma with Palazzo Ducale (now used for military purposes), Galleria Estense with an extraordinary bust of Francesco I d`Este by Bernini and an oil of the very same person by Velazquez, and also Museo Enzo Ferrari – I know nothing about cars, but the brightly yellow museum with car-inspired shape was designed by Czech architect Jan Kaplicky (the museum can be seen from train hen traveling from/to Bologna).