Modena and the surrounding lowland areas offer a variety of multisensory experiences, allowing visitors to explore art and nature through their different senses.
This itinerary is designed for visually impaired and blind visitors, including accessible buildings with tactile tours, audio guides, and interactive activities.
Here, you’ll begin in Modena’s historic center, or, to be exact, at its magnificent group of monuments: the Cathedral of Modena (the “Duomo”), the Ghirlandina Tower, and Piazza Grande, established as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. To help you explore the site, one of the most significant examples of Romanesque architecture, the Something for Everyone guidebook is available free of charge at the Tourist Information Office, located on the ground floor of the Palazzo Comunale, at Piazza Grande 14.
The guide illustrates Modena’s Unesco Site through two tactile maps designed for visually impaired or blind visitors.
To learn more about the Cathedral of Modena and its artistic importance, visit the Museums of the Cathedral. Here, you can delve into the history of the Cathedral and explore some of its characteristic art, including artifacts uncovered during restorations at the end of the nineteenth century, or sculpture, ancient reliquaries, textiles, paintings, and manuscripts that form the so-called “Treasure of the Cathedral.”
Blind and visually impaired visitors accompanied by a guide can request gloves at the Cathedral Museums’ ticket office to touch some of the items on display, whether reproductions or originals. Upon request, the Museums can also organize tactile tours and workshops.
To reach your third destination, cross via Emilia until you arrive at the Palazzo dei Musei. Inside, you’ll find the Este Gallery, one of the oldest and most important of Italy’s national art galleries and a lasting testament to the Estes’ passion for art and for collecting.
Displays are dedicated to drawings, works in bronze, ceramics, musical instruments, medals and, most significantly, paintings dating to between the fourteenth and the eighteenth centuries, including the works of fifteenth-century Modenese artists of the Flemish school as well as those of Correggio and Velázquez.
Audioguides are available at the Estense Galleries and offer detailed descriptions of the most important works of art. In addition, a sensory tour called “Seeing Hands” is available, which includes seven “tactile stations” that explain, through museum panels with translations in Braille and elements in relief, seven of the masterpieces on display, allowing blind or visually impaired visitors to appreciate their style and form. Upon request, the Galleries can organize tactile tours and workshops.
If you’re into cars, here’s a stop you shouldn’t miss. Modena, the city where the legendary Ferrari automobile works was born, is a destination every motorhead should see. It was in Modena that the great Enzo Ferrari, entrepreneur, engineer, and driver, founded his automobile factory in 1947. The legendary Ferrari has become the world’s most recognizable automobile brand and its team of racers has won more prizes than any other in the history of Formula 1.
In the Ferrari Museum - both the site in Maranello and the Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena - are temples to the story of the “Prancing Horse.” Upon request, guided tours can be arranged for the blind or visually impaired, organized according to visitors’ needs, that include touching some of the automobiles displayed in the museum.
Your itinerary continues with a visit to the Salse di Nirano Nature Preserve, in Fiorano Modenese.
Here you’ll find a fascinating geological phenomenon: the term “Salse” refers to flows of salty mud caused by the emission of underground gas, which rise to the surface and “erupt” as small mud “volcanoes.” The Salse di Nirano Preserve features trails and educational paths that are accessible to visually impaired individuals. Additionally, immersive and accessible experiences for visually impaired visitors include guided tours full of captivating soundscapes.
The Reserve’s Cà Tassi Visitors Center can provide additional information and support for organizing your visit.
For your last stop on this itinerary, we’d suggest heading to Carpi, a pearl of the Renaissance. Its Palazzo dei Pio Museum is definitely worth a visit. This group of museums offers a range of opportunities specifically designed for blind or visually impaired visitors. In particular, the entire exhibition is accompanied by information in Braille, and there are two sensory tables in Braille writings accompanied by audio descriptions—one dedicated to Palazzo Pio and the other to the historic city itself—to allow blind visitors to experience the architectural layout of the entire complex.
What is more, relief reproductions of two masterpieces -The Annunciation by Vincenzo Catena and Procne’s Revenge by Mattia Preti - are housed in the Museum of the Palazzo and are available for visitors to touch. Tactile reproductions have also been created for Ugo da Carpi's woodcuts, which form one of the Museums’ main collections.
As an additional support, a selection of items that can be touched, including hats, bronzes, and various other objects, are available for blind and visually impaired visitors at the Museo della Città (City Museum).
