IV.vii. The Spires of Modena

"It was most delicious weather, when we came into Modena, where the darkness of the sombre colonnades over the footways skirting the main street on either side, was made refreshing and agreeable by the bright sky, so wonderfully blue. I passed from all the glory of the day, into a dim cathedral, where High Mass was performing, feeble tapers were burning, people were kneeling in all directions before all manner of shrines, and officiating priests were crooning the usual chant, in the usual, low, dull, drawling, melancholy tone."
- Charles Dickens

One of the greatest advantages of Bologna, if I have not already expounded on it, is how easy it is to get out of it. Day to day, this idea obviously doesn't preoccupy me a great deal, but every week or so a quick getaway does no harm. Location-wise, Bologna is arguably the most strategically placed hub in all of Italy. No northern Italian destination of note is more than two and a half hours away. I must admit that in planning my year abroad, these considerations far outstripped my concerns about academics. Now, I find myself not only within an easy day's visit from Florence, Venice, Padua, and Parma, but living in the heart of a city that never sleeps.
    The bustle and hubbub of Bologna, best described by the varied and hectic days of the previous week, were quickly forgotten in Modena. Only twenty minutes and a couple of euros away by train, it is the closest neighbouring city. Even Goethe, when he climbed the Asinelli tower in Bologna, expounded on the fact that the Western horizon he saw was punctuated only by the pinnacles of Modena. Today the city is best known for its balsamic vinegar, its Ferrari factory, and its glorious cathedral.
    Smaller, cleaner, quieter than Bologna, Modena grew in importance when the d'Este family moved its court there from Ferrara, taking the extraordinary collection of paintings they had amassed with them. Long before that, Willigelmus, the sculptor famous principally for being known by name, was at work on the cathedral here. Now his work is the pride of this town, and along with the main square, they were recently classed as a UNESCO world heritage site. These are a dime a dozen in Italy however; this country has more of these sites than does any other. According to the United Nations, fifty percent of the world's art originated in Italy.
    Under the shadow of the Romanesque cathedral, a precariously leaning marble affair best known to me through the heavily accented lectures of a severe Germanic professor of mine, an antique market was occurring. A few dozen dealers had their wares spread out on tables. A few old paintings and some Roman fibulae caught my eye, but most notable of all was a drawing, a sketch of a Madonna and Child. I held it up to the light and noticed a curious watermark, a lamb bearing a staff with the initials "AB" below. The price put me off, and I vacillated. Finally, I decided that a bit of research was in order before such a purchase could be made. Most of the best pieces I own were bought through careful consideration; most, but not all, since there was that little "Parmigianino" sketch my father and I came upon last year…
    I have promised myself that I will make some definite finds this year, but my year has just begun, and these things take time. To be honest, I was more interested in investigating the incredible cathedral, which includes depictions of the great Arthurian legends of the middle ages. Odd as it seems, Modena was once a major stopover point en route to the Crusades, and many an Englishman passed through its walls, thereby influencing the decorative programme of the unfinished cathedral. Some never left, and their red haired descendents still stroll through the streets here, oblivious of their millennial heritage. I went on to visit the civic museums, and finally I stumbled upon a Christmas concert in a local church. It was packed with locals, especially the elderly, who in Italy have a habit of speaking loudly during such events. Despite this, the orchestra played on, excerpting Handel's Messiah at one point, causing my thoughts to drift longingly off to winters past.
    The choir sung, struggling with the English words but still able to enunciate them; "and we like sheep, have gone astray."


A general view of Modena Cathedral


The famous Crusader reliefs on the North Door


A red marble lion