The cathedral in Modena, Italy
When the cathedral in the Italian city of Modena was put on the World Heritage List, UNESCO described it as “a masterpiece of human creative genius”.
It’s a big call but, then again, over the years this part of Italy has been the birthplace of some of the world’s most famous musicians, painters and scientists. Perhaps it should be no surprise that it would be home to a building like this.
The UNESCO description goes on. Apparently the Modena cathedral is a masterpiece “in which a new dialectical relationship between architecture and sculpture was created in Romanesque art”.
It seems you have to be a creative genius human to understand what that means.
The best way to understand is with your eyes, not with your brain.
Entering the cathedral, bumping into a young man who’s standing in the doorway crossing himself, apologising in a whisper, and then looking up for the first time to see the interior of the church… that’s when it starts to make sense.
The building is a joint creation of architect Lanfranco and sculptor Wiligelmus. Because of this relationship, the cathedral is not so much a construction as a sculpture.
The figures, the patterns, the scenes which are carved into the walls and the columns seem organic.
The very structure of the interior seems in harmony with the artwork and you can’t imagine one without the other – at one point I even consider whether the whole place would collapse if you tried to remove some of the statues.
Presumably it wouldn’t (in case you were actually wondering too).
The cathedral has stood on this same spot since the 12th century and had many alterations over the years. The numerous changes and the even more numerous tests of time have not damaged the cathedral.
It’s not on the typical tourist trail but it’s definitely worth a visit while you’re in the Emilia Romagna region.
THE BEST ACCOMMODATION IN MODENA
Although some people visit as a day trip from Bologna, I think it’s worth staying overnight in Modena to explore everything properly
BACKPACKER
It’s not a typical hostel but the lovely Ostello San Filippo Neri has some great dorm beds.
BUDGET
Just out of town, Country Rooms Modena offers budget rooms in the quiet countryside.
BOUTIQUE
For something special, PHI Hotel Canalgrande is in a former duke’s palace – and is decorated accordingly.
LUXURY
And for modern luxury, I would recommend the five-star Best Western Premier Milano Palace Hotel.
Time Travel Turtle was a guest of the Emilia Romagna tourism board but the opinions, over-written descriptions and bad jokes are his own.
Great photos, Michael, especially the one with the statue in the foreground. I just love the creepy pageantry of Italian religious art!
Thanks, Bret. The religious art here is really interesting… but there sure is a lot of it! 🙂
Love the detail shots from inside the Cathedral!
Thanks. It was a hard one to capture… but you get the general idea…
Beautiful pictures of a masterpiece 🙂
Thanks Angela. The photos don’t do it justice, though. It’s an absolutely stunning building.
Wow! Great shot! love to see this! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks!
Wow, that really is a stunning cathedral. Thanks for sharing – all I really knew of Modena before is that it’s where Balsamic Vinegar comes from, haha 🙂
Well, if you’re interested in the vinegar, you can check out this post about it: https://www.timetravelturtle.com/2012/05/best-balsamic-vinegar-modena/
Beautiful! We’ve always wanted to go to Modena. We’re bog fans of architecture.
You could spend a long time inside the church – it’s beautiful and has so much detail.