We could see the curved yellow building of the Museo Enzo Ferrari through the windows as our train from Bologna pulled into Modena Station.  Once we had worked out which way to go, it was only a short walk to the entrance.

This museum is located at the house where he was brought up. There are two parts of the museum, the  house itself and the gallery in the yellow building we saw from the train. We started with the gallery: a pristine white display area in which Ferraris of various vintages are displayed to their advantage.  A slightly bored-looking woman wandered around with a broom ensuring there were no stray specks of dust underneath the cars, whilst opera music played in the background.

Around the walls of the gallery, where they wouldn’t interfere with the views of the cars, were  a series of display panels about the life of Enzo Ferrari (1898-1988) and the history of motor manufacture in Modena. Enzo Ferrari actually started out as a racing driver for Alfa Romeo, whilst Maserati were making racing cars in Modena. After World War II Ferrari also began to construct racing cars in Modena.  In 1957, all 14 cars in the Formula One line up were either Ferrari or Maserati – not only all Italian, but all from the same town. 

Right on schedule at 10.40 a.m. the gallery went dark for a film presentation. This was projected onto three walls and showed key events in the lifetime of Enzo Ferrari with a largely operatic soundtrack. No voiceover was needed. At one point the soundtrack was Nessun Dorma sung by Pavarotti – appropriately enough as the singer was also from Modena.

Contrary to our Lonely Planet guidebook, the exhibition in the house and workshop was not about the life of Enzo Ferrari, but about engines, with some more beautiful cars (and a speedboat) on display, although there was also a replica of Ferrari’s office at the Maranello factory. 

There is another museum at Maranello, some way out of Modena, but having seen our fill of Ferraris, rather than take the shuttle bus to visit it, we chose to walk into the centre of Modena. We passed the Palazzo Ducale (once the home of the Este Dukes and now military academy) but took a wrong turning and ended up going a very long way round before we finally found the Duomo. On the plus side, we were able to visit the covered market on the way.

Modena’s cathedral is celebrated as the finest Romanesque church in Italy, and was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The pink marble exterior looks like some sort of sugar confection, with the pink spire of the Ghirlandina tower rising behind it. Inside is dark, and Romanesque in style – very different to many of the other churches we visited which had lavish Baroque interiors.

From the Duomo we walked to the Palazzo de Musei, stopping for a gelato en route. On arrival we found that the Civic Museums were closed for the summer break, but fortunately the Galleria Estense, which was what we had come to see, was open. This gallery, which was far more extensive than I expected, houses the Este family collection of northern Italian paintings from late medieval to 18^th century along with some Flemish works.

Returning to Piazza Grande we stopped for tea in a cafe just next to the Palazzo Communale or town hall. Tea in Italy is always a gamble.  On this occasion the waiter brought me a cup with a slice of lemon in it, an Earl Grey teabag in the saucer, and a teapot.  Before I could stop him, he poured water from the pot into the cup, leaving the teabag where it was. 

Our final visit of the day was to the Palazzo Communale, the 17^th century town hall where the historic rooms with elaborate painted ceilings are open to visitors free of charge.

All in all an enjoyable day out in Modena, my one regret being that we didn’t find time to sample the other local speciality: balsamic vinegar. I made up for it by having a delicious vegetable soufflé with balsamic dressing for dinner back in Bologna.

I visited Modena as a day trip from Bologna in July 2016.