Traveling with our four-legged friends is a great experience, but it’s not always easy to know how to best organize a trip.
That’s why we’ve assembled a few suggestions to help you visit Modena with your faithful companion at your side.
Start at Modena’s main UNESCO World Heritage Site, a complex made up of Piazza Grande, the Ghirlandina Tower, and Modena Cathedral in the heart of the city. Take a stroll up and down the piazza to admire the imposing architecture of these structures.
Visitors who find themselves in these spaces, designated a World Heritage Site in 1997, are guaranteed to go away amazed. You’ll find the Palazzo Comunale here as well. Its splendid portico, among the most beautiful in the city, encloses the Piazza on two sides and shelters a delightful open-air “lounge” where visitors can enjoy the many cafés and restaurants in any season.
If you’re feeling peckish, consider a brief stop at one of these locales. The outside tables will give you and your four-legged friend a comfortable break.
We wouldn’t want to forget to mention Piazza XX Settembre, only a short distance away, where you’ll find a drinking fountain that can provide refreshment for you and your pup. In fact, there are quite a few water fountains located all around the city center.
Your visit continues with a stroll along via Emilia Centro in the direction of via Farini.
The next stop is Piazza Roma, a vast open space decorated with enchanting fountains and other water features and the location of the astounding Palazzo Ducale.
Construction of the Palazzo was begun in 1634 by architect Bartolomeo Avanzini, and this imposing building was home to the Este Court for more than two centuries. Today, it is the site of Modena’s prestigious Military Academy.
The benches around Piazza Roma are a great place to stop for a rest, but one of Modena’s most charming parks is not far away: the Ducal Gardens, an ideal place for you and your faithful companion to take a relaxing break.
As you enter the Park, let yourself be enchanted by the elegant flower beds and by the site of Palazzina Vigarani in the distance. This beautifully designed building is a testament to the classic features of seventeenth-century architecture. The effect is enhanced by relaxing ponds filled with goldfish and gravel paths that wind beneath the shadow of ancient trees.
If you find yourself in the mood to take in some local culture, but you don’t know where to leave your dog, don’t worry. Head to the Enzo Ferrari Museum where Fido can wait outside in an area just for dogs that features Ferrari-shaped kennels equipped with water bowls.
Calling this structure a “museum” is reductive, because the Enzo Ferrari Museum isn’t just a place to see exhibits. It’s an intriguing and thrilling spectacle that brings together a host of special details: a shapely futuristic pavilion that measures 2,500 m2, a collection of cars that have made automotive history, a multimedia presentation that tells the magical story of Enzo Ferrari’s ninety years under the sign of the “prancing horse,” Ferrari’s logo since the firm’s inception. The old workshop, in addition, where Enzo first worked, has been painstakingly restored to become the Ferrari Motor Museum.
Once you’ve come to the end of your visit, you can walk back toward the center of town. This time, though, you might choose to stroll through the greenery of the Viali del Parco or pass an hour or two in another of the city’s green areas with dog-friendly zones.
If the second option appeals, our advice is to head toward Amendola Park, where your furry friend can “stretch his paws.” The dog park is a short distance from the park’s entrance kiosk, essentially right across from the children’s train.
