We shifted our base about 50 kilometers today to Modena. Modena is probably most famous these days for being the home of Pavarotti. Ferrari’s headquarters and plant is located about 10 miles from Modena in a small town called Maranello, so there are a lot of things Ferrari in the area also.
Ton had prepared a list of places to visit so we headed to the first one on her list, the indoor market. The market was a nice mix of shops with everything from fruit and vegetable stalls to fish and meat. It was clearly set up to cater primarily to locals and not tourists. This is the kind of market we like.
We made a pass thru the market and spotted a couple of items we were interested in, but decided to come back after lunch. The region is known for its Balsamic vinegar and there were a couple of stalls featuring that as well as a particular bread unique to the region that we wanted to buy.
Ton had read about a restaurant across from the market so we decided to go there for lunch. Yesterday our giant charcuterie plate had blocked us from trying two local specialties we were interested in. So when we sat down we were very pleased to see they had both Lasagna Verde, and Ragu Tagliatelle on the menu. We ordered one of each as well as a meat dish prepared with Balsalmic Vinegar. With one order we had covered three of the most famous foods in the region. The Ragu was memorable and one of the better pasta dishes we have ordered, but the lasagna was incredible. It had a creaminess in the sauce that we had never experienced before. The pasta is dyed green by adding spinach to it as it is produced, the bechamel sauce used in the lasagna was originally French and gives it the creamy texture. We both agreed it was the best lasagna we have ever had.
We returned to the market after our long and delicious 90 minute lunch, but all of the shops we intended to buy from before lunch had closed down. So we left without our bread and vinegar.
When we first entered the cathedral it was very dark and did not make much of an impression on us. But as our eyes adjusted to the light Ton said this place is beautiful. This is the second church we have seen in northern Italy where there is a wall right behind the alter that divides the church. In this case there are stairs that you can climb to stand on the wall behind the alter and look down on the congregation. This is our first experience seeing this design feature in a cathedral particularly the stairs and balcony above the altar.
The cathedral also has a crypt with the patron saint of the city in it which is open to the public. We have seen a lot of churches and cathedrals in our travels but this one broke the mode a bit in its design and lighting, we enjoyed it.
Ton also wanted to visit St. Augustine church to look at the ceiling and a sculpture. It took us two attempts to get in. The exterior is not that interesting, in fact I was hard pressed to recognize it as a church when google told me I had arrived, it looked just like any other building in town. We couldn’t find the doors in, because it turns out they were locked until 4pm.
We used the time we had to find an ATM to get some cash. We first went to a commercial bank, but they wanted to charge us a 5% transaction fee. I then remembered that the post offices in Europe often offer a banking service and their ATM’s don’t charge transaction fees. A quick search of google showed a postal bank only 200 meters away and our cash problem was solved.
We headed back down to St. Augustine and we arrived just as they were opening the doors to the public. While the exterior of the church is nothing special. The interior was very ornate and beautiful. While the cathedral was Romanesque in style, the church was from the Renaissance. These two churches 500 yards apart were a good education for me on the differences between the austerity of Romanesque buildings, and the elaborate features of the Renaissance.
After we finished with the church it was time to head back to the campground. I would like to say that I have mastered Italian bus schedules and the trip back was smooth, but I would be lying. Despite my best efforts we ended up on the wrong bus (I took bus 3, and I should have took bus 3A, I think…) so we ended up walking an unplanned mile to get back to the campground. Ton wasn’t too happy with me.