Ducal Palace
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Transcript
In 1598, Modena became the capital of the Este state after the dynasty lost Ferrara to papal rule.
That transfer changed the city's political scale almost overnight. A provincial centre now had to support a court.
The existing castle was not adequate for the image the Este wanted. In the seventeenth century, Francesco I d'Este pursued a major rebuilding project, with architect Bartolomeo Avanzini associated with the monumental palace that developed from 1634.
The result was deliberately grand. A dynasty that had lost one famous capital needed the new one to look like a choice rather than a consolation prize.
Court life brought officials, artists, musicians, guards and suppliers. The palace therefore reorganised more than architecture.
The Este remained in Modena until the political transformations of the nineteenth century. The last duke, Francesco V of Austria-Este, left in 1859 during the unification process.
Today the palace houses Italy's Military Academy, an excellent example of institutional reuse. Dynastic prestige became national military training.
Access is limited because the building is still active, which is historically appropriate. Palaces were never freely open public spaces either.
Look at the façade's enormous scale compared with the medieval centre. Modena's two major historical identities now stand within a few minutes: communal Romanesque city and absolutist court capital.
Our next stop is Teatro Comunale Pavarotti-Freni, where the courtly investment in music evolved into a broader urban culture of opera and performance.