Modena
—  Comune  —
Comune di Modena
Modena Cathedral (left) and City Hall (right)
Modena Location of Modena in Italy
Coordinates: 44°39′N 10°56′E / 44.65°N 10.933°E / 44.65; 10.933Coordinates: 44°39′N 10°56′E / 44.65°N 10.933°E / 44.65; 10.933
Country	Italy
Region	Emilia-Romagna
Province	Modena (MO)
Frazioni	Albareto, Baggiovara, Ca' Fusara, Cognento, Cittanova, Collegara, Ganaceto, Lesignana, Marzaglia, Navicello, Portile, San Damaso, San Donnino, Tre Olmi, Villanova
Government
• Mayor	Giorgio Pighi (Democratic Party)
Area
• Total	182.7 km2 (70.5 sq mi)
Elevation	34 m (112 ft)
Population (21 December 2009)
• Total	183,069
• Density	1,000/km2 (2,600/sq mi)
Demonym	Modenesi
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	41100
Dialing code	059
Patron saint	San Geminiano
Saint day	January 31
Website	Official website

Modena (Italian: [ˈmɔːdena] ( listen); Modenese: Mòdna; Latin: Mutina) is a city and comune (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.

An ancient town, it is the seat of an archbishop, but is now best known as "the capital of engines", since the factories of the famous Italian sports car makers Ferrari, De Tomaso, Lamborghini, Pagani and Maserati are, or were, located here and all, except Lamborghini, have headquarters in the city or nearby. Lamborghini is headquartered not far away in Sant'Agata Bolognese, in the adjacent Province of Bologna. One of Ferrari's cars, the 360 Modena, was named after the town itself. Also, one of the colors for Ferraris is Modena yellow.

The University of Modena, founded in 1175 and expanded by Francesco II d'Este in 1686, has traditional strengths in economics, medicine and law and is the second oldest athenaeum in Italy, sixth in the whole world^{[citation needed]}. Italian officers are trained at the Italian Military Academy, located in Modena, and partly housed in the Baroque Ducal Palace. The Biblioteca Estense houses historical volumes and 3,000 manuscripts.

Modena is well known in culinary circles for its production of balsamic vinegar and also for its Military Academy, Italy's "Westpoint", which is housed in the Ducal Palace.

Famous Modenesi include Mary of Modena, the Queen consort of England and Scotland; operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti (1935–2007) and soprano Mirella Freni, born in Modena itself; Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) eponymous founder of the Ferrari motor company; the Catholic Priest and Senior Exorcist of Vatican Gabriele Amorth; and the rock singer Vasco Rossi who was born in Zocca, one of the 47 comuni in the Province of Modena.

Geography[link]

Modena lies on the Pianura Padana, and is bounded by the two rivers Secchia and Panaro, both affluents of the Po River. Their presence is symbolized by the Two Rivers Fountain in the city's center, by Giuseppe Graziosi. The city is connected to the Panaro by the Naviglio channel.

The Apennines ranges begin some 10 km from the city, to the south.

The commune is divided into four circoscrizioni. These are:

• Centro storico (Historical Center, San Cataldo)
• Crocetta (San Lazzaro-East Modena, Crocetta)
• Buon Pastore (Buon Pastore, Sant'Agnese, San Damaso)
• San Faustino (S.Faustino-Saliceta San Giuliano, Madonnina-Quattro Ville)

Modena has a temperate climate. It experiences hot, humid summers with little rainfall and cold, damp winters.

History[link]

Ancient times[link]

The territory around Modena (Latin: Mutina, Etruscan: Muoina) was inhabited by the Villanovans in the Iron Age, and later by Ligurian tribes, Etruscans, and the Gaulish Boii (the settlement itself being Etruscan). Although the exact date of its foundation is unknown, it is known that it was already in existence in the 3rd century BC, for in 218 BC, during Hannibal's invasion of Italy, the Boii revolted and laid siege to the city. Livy described it as a fortified citadel where Roman magistrates took shelter. The outcome of the siege is not known, but the city was most likely abandoned after Hannibal's arrival. Mutina was refounded as a Roman colony in 183 BC, to be used as a military base by Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, causing the Ligurians to sack it in 177 BC. Nonetheless, it was rebuilt, and quickly became the most important centre in Cisalpine Gaul, both because of its strategic importance and because it was on an important crossroads between Via Aemilia and the road going to Verona.

A view of Piazza Grande

In the 1st century BC Mutina was besieged twice. The first siege was by Pompey in 78 BC, when Mutina was defended by Marcus Junius Brutus (a populist leader, not to be confused with his son, Caesar's best known assassin). The city eventually surrendered out of hunger, and Brutus fled, only to be slain in Regium Lepidi. In the civil war following Caesar's assassination, the city was besieged once again, this time by Mark Antony, in 44 BC, and defended by Decimus Junius Brutus. Octavian relieved the city with the help of the Senate.

Cicero called it Mutina splendidissima ("most beautiful Mutina") in his Philippics (44 BC). Until the 3rd century AD, it kept its position as the most important city in the newly formed Aemilia province, but the fall of the Empire brought Mutina down with it, as it was used as a military base both against the barbarians and in the civil wars. It is said that Mutina was never sacked by Attila, for a dense fog hid it (a miracle said to be provided by Saint Geminianus, bishop and patron of Modena), but it was eventually buried by a great flood in the 7th century and abandoned.

As of December, 2008, Italian researchers have discovered the pottery center where the oil lamps that lit the ancient Roman empire were made. Evidence of the pottery workshops emerged in Modena, in central-northern Italy, during construction work to build a residential complex near the ancient walls of the city. "We found a large ancient Roman dumping filled with pottery scraps. There were vases, bottles, bricks, but most of all, hundreds of oil lamps, each bearing their maker's name", Donato Labate, the archaeologist in charge of the dig, stated.

Middle Ages[link]

Its exiles founded a new city a few miles to the northwest, still represented by the village of Cittanova (literally "new city"). About the end of the 9th century, Modena was restored and refortified by its bishop, Ludovicus. At about this time the Song of the Watchmen of Modena was composed. Later the city was part of the possessions of the Countess Matilda of Tuscany, becoming a free commune starting from the 12th century. In the wars between Emperor Frederick II and Pope Gregory IX Modena sided with the emperor.

The Este family were identified as lords of Modena from 1288 (Obizzo d'Este). After the death of Obizzo's successor (Azzo VIII, in 1308) the commune reasserted itself, but by 1336 the Este family was permanently in power. Under Borso d'Este Modena was made a duchy.

Modern age[link]

Enlarged and fortified by Ercole II, it was made the primary ducal residence when Ferrara, the main Este seat, fell to the Pope in 1598. Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena (1629–1658) built the citadel and began the palace, which was largely embellished by Francesco II. In the 18th century, Rinaldo d'Este was twice driven from his city by French invasions, and Francesco III built many of Modena's public buildings, but the Este pictures were sold and many of them wound up in Dresden. Ercole III died in exile at Treviso, having refused Napoleonic offers of compensation when Modena was made part of the Napoleonic Cispadane Republic. His only daughter, Maria Beatrice d'Este, married Ferdinand I, Archduke of Austria-Este, son of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria; and in 1814 their eldest son, Francis IV, received back the estates of the Este. Quickly, in 1816, he dismantled the fortifications that might well have been used against him and began Modena's years under Austrian rule which, despite being just, constitutional and fair, nevertheless had to face another foreign-inspired rebellion in 1830, this time happily unsuccessful.

His son Francis V was also a just ruler and famously tended the victims of war and cholera with his own hands. However, he too had to face yet more foreign-inspired revolutions and was temporarily expelled from Modena in the European Revolutions of 1848. He was restored, amidst wide popular acclaim, by Austrian troops. Ten years later, on August 20, 1859, the revolutionaries again invaded (this time the Piedmontese), annexing Modena into the revolutionary Savoyard nation of Italy as a territorial part of the Kingdom of Italy.

Interior of the Cathedral

Piazza Grande, with the Cathedral and the Communal Palace.

The Baroque Ducal Palace of Modena (now a military academy)

Main sights[link]

The Cathedral and the Ghirlandina[link]

The Cathedral of Modena and the annexed campanile are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Begun under the direction of the Countess Matilda of Tuscany with its first stone laid June 6, 1099 and its crypt ready for the city's patron, Saint Geminianus, and consecrated only six years later, the Duomo of Modena was finished in 1184. The building of a great cathedral in this flood-prone ravaged former center of Arianism was an act of urban renewal in itself, and an expression of the flood of piety that motivated the contemporary First Crusade. Unusually, the master builder's name, Lanfranco, was celebrated in his own day: the city's chronicler expressed the popular confidence in the master-mason from Como, Lanfranco: by God's mercy the man was found (inventus est vir). The sculptor Wiligelmus who directed the mason's yard was praised in the plaque that commemorated the founding. The program of the sculpture is not lost in a welter of detail: the wild dangerous universe of the exterior is mediated by the Biblical figures of the portals leading to the Christian world of the interior. In Wiligelmus' sculpture at Modena, the human body takes on a renewed physicality it had lost in the schematic symbolic figures of previous centuries. At the east end, three apses reflect the division of the body of the cathedral into nave and wide aisles with their bold, solid masses. Modena's Duomo inspired campaigns of cathedral and abbey building in emulation through the valley of the Po.

The Gothic campanile (1224–1319) is called Torre della Ghirlandina from the bronze garland surrounding the weathercock.

Ducal Palace[link]

The Ducal Palace, begun by Francesco I d'Este in 1634 and finished by Francis V, was the seat of the Este court from the 17-19th century. The palace occupies the site of the former Este Castle, once located in the periphery of the city. Although generally credited to Bartolomeo Avanzini, it has been suggested that advice and guidance in the design process had been sought from the contemporary luminaries, Cortona, Bernini, and Borromini.

The Palace currently houses the Accademia Militare di Modena, the Military Museum and a precious Library.

The Palace has a Baroque façade from which the Honour Court, where the military ceremonies are held, and the Honour Staircase can be accessed. The Central Hall has a frescoed ceiling with the 17th century Incoronation of Bradamante by Marco Antonio Franceschini. The Salottino d'Oro ("Golden Hall"), covered with gilted removable panels, was used by Duke Francis III as his main cabinet of work.

Town Hall[link]

Facing the Piazza Grande (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), the Town Hall of Modena was put together in the 17th-18th centuries from several pre-existing edifices built from 1046 as municipal offices.

It is characterized by a Clock Tower (Torre dell'Orologio, late 15th century), once paired with another tower (Torre Civica) demolished after an earthquake in 1671. In the interior, noteworthy is the Sala del Fuoco ("Fire Hall"), with a painted frieze by Niccolò dell'Abbate (1546) portraying famous characters from Ancient Rome against a typical Emilia background. The Camerino dei Confirmati ("Chamber of the Confirmed") houses one of the symbols of the city, the Secchia Rapita, a bucket kept in memory of the victorious Battle of Zappolino (1325) against Bologna. This relic inspired the poem of the same title by Alessandro Tassoni. Another relic from the Middle Ages in Modena is the Preda Ringadora, a rectangular marble stone next to the palace porch, used as a speakers' platform, and the statue called La Bonissima ("The Very Good"): the latter, portraying a female figure, was erected in the square in 1268 and later installed over the porch.

Museum Palace[link]

The Palace Museum, on the St. Augustine square, is an example of civil architecture from the Este period, built as a Hostel for the Poor together with the nearby Hospital in the late 18th century. Today it houses the main museums of Modena:

• Estense Gallery, with works by Tintoretto, Paolo Veronese, Guido Reni, Correggio, Cosmé Tura and brothers Annibale and Agostino Carracci. The most famous works are the two portraits of Francis I d'Este, a sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and a canvas by Diego Velázquez.
• Estense Library, one of the most important libraries in Italy.
• Museum of Mediaeval and Modern Art.
• Municipal Museum of Risorgimento.
• Este Headstones Museum.
• Graziosi Chalks Gallery.
• Archaeological and Ethnological Museum.

Other churches[link]

• San Vincenzo was erected in the 17th century over a church known from the 13th century. The works were begun by Paolo Reggiano, who was followed by Bernardo Castagnini, probably helped by the young Guarino Guarini. The interior contains frescoes by Sigismondo Caula portraying episodes of the life of Saint Vincent and Saint Cajetan. The dome was destroyed during World War II. This church houses the funerary monuments of the Este Dukes.
• Santa Maria della Pomposa (also known as Aedes Muratoriana) is probably the most ancient religious edifice, being mentioned as early as 1135. Little remains of the original Middle Ages temple can be seen. The church is mainly linked to Ludovico Antonio Muratori, who was its parish priest from 1716 to 1750 and rebuilt it almost from scratch.
• The church of San Giovanni Decollato ("St. John Baptist Beheaded") was built in the 16th century over a pre-existing temple dedicated to St. Michael, and modified in the 18th century.
• The church of St. Augustine was built in the 14th century, but largely renovated for the funerals of Alfonso IV d'Este in 1663. The sober original structure has now 17th stuccoes and a panelled ceiling. The most notable artwork is the Deposition (1476) by the Modenese Antonio Begarelli, once in the church of St. John the Baptist. Traces of a 14th century fresco by Tommaso da Modena can still be seen.
• The church of St. Francis was built by the Franciscans from 1244, and finished after more than two centuries. A sober Gothic-style edifice, it houses one of Begarelli's masterworks, a Deposition of Christ made up of thirteen statues.

• The church of St. Peter was erected, according to tradition, over the temple of Jupiter Capitulinus. The current edifice is from 1476, built next to a Benedictine abbey founded in 996 oustide the city walls, and is one of the few Renaissance architecture in Modena. The interior has a precious 15th century organ and numerous terracotta works by Begarelli. The campanile is from 1629.
• The church of St. George is also known as the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin Helper of the Modenese People, who boasts a venerated image over the high altar. The latter is a work in polychrome marbles by Antonio Loraghi (1666). The church has a Greek plan and was constructed from 1647.

Synagogue[link]

• The Synagogue, next to the Palazzo Comunale, was built by the Jewish Community of Modena in Lombardesque style and inaugurated in 1873.

Other points of interest[link]

• Orto Botanico dell'Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, a botanical garden

Culture[link]

Teatro Comunale Modena[link]

The Teatro Comunale Modena (Community Theatre of Modena, but renamed in October 2007 as Teatro Comunale Luciano Pavarotti) is an opera house in the town of Modena, (Emilia-Romagna province), Italy. The idea for the creation of the present theatre dates from 1838, when it became apparent that the then-existing Teatro Comunale di via Emilia (in dual private and public ownership) was no longer suitable for staging opera. However, this house had been the venue for presentations of all of the works of Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini up to this time, and a flourishing operatic culture existed in Modena.

Under the Mayor of Modena in collaboration with the Conservatorio dell'Illustrissima Comunita (Conservatory of the Most Illustrious Community), architect Francesco Vandelli was engaged to design the Teatro dell'Illustrissima Comunita, as the theatre was first called, "for the dignity of the city and for the transmission of the scenic arts".^[1] Paid for in the manner typical of the time - from the sale of boxes - in addition to a significant gift from Duke Friedrich IV, Vandelli created a design for the new theatre combining ideas from those in Piacenza, Mantua, and Milan, and it opened on 2 October 1841 with a performance of Gandini's Adelaide di Borgogna al Castello di Canossa, an opera specially commissioned for the occasion.

Cuisine[link]

"Cotechino Modena", as served with polenta and lentils.

Modena has a rich and diversified cuisine, often including meats, hams and salamis. One of the most famous Modenese dishes is "Zampone" (the fatter and heartier version) or "Cotechino Modena" (Cotechino is leaner and less fat than Zampone). Cotechino dates back to around 1511 to Mirandola, where, whilst besieged, the people had to find a way to preserve meat and use the less tender cuts, so made the cotechino. By the 18th century it had become more popular than the yellowish sausage had been around at the time, and in the 19th century was in mass production in and around the area.

Modena's contribution to the Italian pasta culture are tortellini and tortelloni which are squares of pasta shaped in the form of a ring and stuffed with meat or cheese.

"Cappello da prete" is also a popular meal, which is a very fatty pig's trotter. Other dishes include "Torta Barozzi" or "Torta Nera", which is a black tart (a dessert made with a coffee/cocoa and almond filling encased in a fine pastry dough), "Ciccioli", which is a pig's head served cold, and "Pesto modenese", which is cured pork back fat pounded with garlic, rosemary and Parmigiano-Reggiano used to fill tigelle, borlenghi and crescentine.

Economy[link]

Panini Group, including Panini Comics, is headquartered in Modena.^[2]

Automobile legacy[link]

A Maserati GranTurismo

Modena is, along with Turin, one of Italy's main centres of the automotive industry, and has a long automobile legacy. The iconic Ferrari supercar was founded in Modena by Modenese car manufacturer Enzo Ferrari. Several Italian supercars such as Pagani, De Tomaso, Lamborghini, Maserati and Bugatti were either founded or are currently headquartered or built within a few kilometers from the city.

Transport[link]

Rail[link]

Modena railway station, opened in 1859, forms part of the Milan–Bologna railway, and is also a terminus of two secondary railways, linking Modena with Verona and Sassuolo, respectively.

Urban transport[link]

Modena's urban public transport network is operated by SETA. The network includes the Modena trolleybus system.

Demographics[link]

In 2007, there were 179,937 people residing in Modena located in the province of Modena, Emilia-Romagna, of whom 48.1% were male and 51.9% were female. Minors (children ages 18 and younger) totalled 16.20 percent of the population compared to pensioners who number 22.54 percent. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06 percent (minors) and 19.94 percent (pensioners). The average age of Modena resident is 44 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Modena experienced 2.42% growth, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.56 percent.^[3][4] The current birth rate of Modena is 9.62 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births.

As of 2006, 89.61% of the population was Italian. The largest foreign group comes from other parts of Europe (namely Romania and Albania): 3.94%, followed by North Africa: 2.40%, and sub-saharan Africa: 1.94%.

Sport[link]

Modena has a strong sporting tradition, linked mainly to motor racing as the birthplace of Enzo Ferrari, founder of the eponymous motor racing team and car manufacturer which is based in nearby Maranello. The Ferrari 360 Modena was named after the city. Indeed, Modena is known as the World's 'Supercar Capital', being the nearest large town to the homes of Maserati, Lamborghini, Pagani and previously also Bugatti and De Tomaso. The city's football club, Modena F.C., plays in Serie B, the Italian second division. Volleyball plays an important role in Modena's sport history, with Panini Modena club having won 11 National championships, 4 Champion's League seasons and a handful of other trophies.

International relations[link]

Twin towns — Sister cities[link]

Modena is twinned with:

See also[link]

• Duchy of Modena and Reggio
• Jewish Community of Modena
• List of Dukes of Ferrara and of Modena
• New Holland Agriculture

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about Modena on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks

• Official website of the Modena Tourist Information Office - in English
• Teatro Communale information from the Modena website
• Introduction to Modena cathedral, illustrated
• Description of the cathedral
• Modena Photo Gallery Pictures of Modena
• Meteo Modena Weather cam located in Modena (Italian)
• Webcam Modena Street webcam located Via Sauro, downtown Modena
• Ancient Roman Oil Lamp 'Factory Town' Found
• Modena info city of Modena

v t e World Heritage Sites in Italy North West Crespi d'Adda Genoa Mantua and Sabbioneta Portovenere Cinque Terre (Monterosso al Mare Vernazza Corniglia Manarola Riomaggiore), Palmaria Tino and Tinetto Residences of the Royal House of Savoy Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes1 Rock Drawings in Valcamonica Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan Monte San Giorgio North East Aquileia Botanical Garden, Padua Cathedral Torre Civica and Piazza Grande, Modena The Dolomites Ferrara Ravenna Venice Verona Vicenza and Palladian Villas of the Veneto Centre Assisi Cerveteri and Tarquinia Florence Hadrian's Villa Piazza del Duomo, Pisa Pienza Rome2 San Gimignano Siena Urbino Val d'Orcia Villa d'Este South Alberobello Amalfi Coast Castel del Monte Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park Paestum and Velia Certosa di Padula Naples Palace of Caserta Aqueduct of Vanvitelli and San Leucio Complex Pompeii Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata Sassi of Matera Islands Aeolian Islands Archaeological Area of Agrigento Barumini nuraghes Syracuse and Necropolis of Pantalica Val di Noto (Caltagirone Militello in Val di Catania Catania Modica Noto Palazzolo Acreide Ragusa Scicli) Villa Romana del Casale Nationwide Longobards in Italy, Places of Power (568-774 A.D.) Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps3 1 Shared with Switzerland 2 Shared with the Holy See 3 Shared with Austria, France, Germany, Slovenia, and Switzerland

Modena City Ramblers
Collage of the members of the Modena City Ramblers Photographer and creator of collage: Roberto Scorta
Background information
Origin	Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Genres	Folk rock, Folk music
Years active	1991–present
Website	http://www.ramblers.it
Members
Arcangelo "Kaba" Cavazzuti · Elisabetta "Betty" Vezzani · Davide "Dudu" Morandi · Francesco "Fry" Moneti · Franco D'Aniello · Massimo "Ice" Ghiacci · Roberto Zeno
Past members
Luca "Gabibbo" Giacometti · Stefano "Cisco" Bellotti · Alberto Cottica · Luciano Gaetani · Massimo Giuntini · Marco Michelini · Alberto Morselli · Giovanni Rubbiani

Modena City Ramblers (also known as M.C.R.) is an Italian folk band founded in 1991. Their music is heavily influenced by Celtic themes, and can be compared to folk rock music. The band has sold over 500,000 albums. Known for their left-wing politics, their lyrics often speak out against the Mafia and fascism.

Biography[link]

Abbiamo cominciato per hobby, per divertimento puro e semplice. Avevamo un'impronta punk, andavamo a suonare senza neanche provare, a volte eravamo in 6, a volte in 7, anche in 11.

—Franco D'Aniello

The Modena City Ramblers were formed in 1991 by a group of friends that wanted to play traditional Irish music. The first to join were Alberto Morselli, Giovanni Rubbiani and Alberto Cottica (still in Lontano da dove), Chris Dennis (formerly a member of Nomadi), Filippo Chieli, Franco D'Aniello and Luciano Gaetani from 'Abazia dei folli. On Saint Patrick's Day in 1991, during a concert in a pub in Modena, they chose the name Modena City Ramblers. The name was an homage to Dublin City Ramblers, an Irish band.^[1]

In 1992, they were joined by bassist Massimo Ghiacci (formerly in the band Plutonium 99). During the evening of 1 March they recorded their first demo. During a concert at a pub in Carpi, Stefano "Cisco" Bellotti sang The Wild Rover for the first time.^[2] At this time the Modena City Ramblers became an open company, and have remained so during throughout their history, with almost all members who have left the band returning sporadically to play with the group. Their most famous concert was performed as the opening act for the Pogues in Modena. Their repertoire has since expanded considerably, including traditional Italian songs as Bella ciao, Fischia il vento, and Contessa.

The singer of the group Cisco along with producer Kaba Cavazzuti who also became "a new member of the Modena City Ramblers after changes in the original line-up", released the album of the ‘brother band’ Casa del Vento, titled "900" which came out in February 2001.^[3]

Members[link]

The band's lineup has changed many times since their formation.^[4] After the first album, singer Alberto Morselli left the band; in 1996 Francesco Moneti replaced Marco Michelini, and Giovanni Rubbiani and Alberto Cottica left the band in 2001. Singer Stefano "Cisco" Bellotti left the band in 2005 after fourteen years. The lineup in 2006 was:

• Davide "Dudu" Morandi: singer, bass, acoustic and electric guitar, banjo, glockenspiel, harmonica
• Elisabetta "Betty" Vezzani: singer, acoustic and electric guitar, tambourine, mandolin
• Massimo "Ice" Ghiacci^[5]: acoustic and electric bass, double bass, tea chest bass, sax,^[6] choirs, acoustic guitar
• Franco D'Aniello: flute, tin whistle, trumpet, sax, choirs, acoustic guitar, glockenspiel, percussion
• Francesco "Fry" Moneti: acoustic and electric guitar, acoustic, electric and Indian violin, banjo, oud, mandolin, choirs, vox
• Roberto Zeno: drums, percussions, choirs, mandolin, acoustic guitar and piano
• Arcangelo "Kaba" Cavazzuti: drums, percussions, acoustic guitar, bass, charango, piano, trumpet,^[7] shaker, banjo, choirs, vox
• Luca "Gabibbo" Giacometti (died in 2007): bouzouki, mandolin, banjo, acoustic guitar, choirs, vox

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    from:1991 till:1996 text:"Marco Michelini"
 bar:tedeschi_bar
    from:1991 till:1993 color:blue2_bars text:"Marco Tedeschi"
 bar:ice_bar
    from:1991 till:2008 color:blue1_bars text:"Massimo 'Ice' Ghiacci"
 bar:massimo_bar
    from:1996 till:1998 
    from:2000 till:2002 text:"Massimo Giuntini"
 bar:robby_bar
    from:1994 till:2008 color:blue2_bars text:"Roberto Zeno"
 bar:cisco_bar
    from:1992 till:2006 text:"Stefano 'Cisco' Bellotti"

</timeline>

Discography[link]

Album[link]

• 1994 – Riportando tutto a casa
• 1996 – La grande famiglia
• 1997 – Terra e libertà
• 1998 – Raccolti
• 1999 – Fuori campo
• 2002 – Radio Rebelde
• 2004 – ¡Viva la vida, muera la muerte!
• 2005 – Appunti partigiani
• 2006 – Dopo il lungo inverno
• 2008 – Bella ciao - Italian Combat Folk for the Masses
• 2009 - Onda libera
• 2011 - Sul tetto del mondo

EPs[link]

• 1998 – Cent'anni di solitudine
• 1999 – L'Italia ai tempi dei Modena City Ramblers
• 2003 – Modena City Remix
• 2003 – Gocce (for Acqua per la Pace)
• 2004 – El presidente

Rarities[link]

• 1992 – On the first day of march...Live demo - autoproduced demotape
• 1993 - Combat Folk – autoproduced demotape
• 2000 - Il resto raccolto – recorded only for fan club

DVD[link]

• 2004 - Clan Banlieue - twelve years of songs, concerts, interviews, journey, unreleased videos

Participations[link]

• 1995 - Tributo ad Augusto (CGD) - with L'atomica cinese
• 1995 - Materiale resistente - with Bella ciao
• 1995 - I disertori - a tribute to Ivano Fossati - play Gli amanti d'Irlanda
• 1999 - A come Ambiente (La Stampa)- with Madre Terra
• 2002 - Piazza Carlo Giuliani ragazzo - with La legge giusta (inspired by the 27th G8 summit)
• 2002 - Lontano - by Landscape Prayers
• 2003 - Balla veloce vivi lento - with Le lucertole del folk
• 2007 - Tre colori by Graziano Romani - with Spiriti Liberi; Stesso Viaggio Stessa Città; Corre Buon Sangue.
• 2007 - Nessuno oltraggi nessuno - with Socialdemocrazia by Gang, live version.

Collaborations[link]

• Several of the Ramblers' songs, such as "Cent'anni di solitudine", "Macondo Express", and "Remedios la Bella" are inspired by the 1967 novel One Hundred Years of Solitude (Spanish: Cien años de soledad) by Nobel Prize-winning Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez.
• The song "Il bicchiere dell'addio" features Irish singer Bob Geldof. The Ramblers later recorded a version of "The Great Song of Indifference" in Emiliano-Romagnolo language, inspired by Geldof's version 1990 hit from Vegetarians of Love album.
• The Ramblers' album Appunti Partigiani features collaborations with many artists, including Goran Bregović, Billy Bragg, Moni Ovadia, Piero Pelù, and Francesco Guccini.

References[link]

1. ^ Alberto Morselli in his biography
2. ^ Stefano "Cisco" Bellotti in Clan Banlieue - 12 years of songs , concerts, interviews, journeys, videos
3. ^ radiochango.com
4. ^ Tree
5. ^ "Ghiaccio" is the Italian for "Ice"
6. ^ Tour 2008
7. ^ Tour 2008 Image

External links[link]

• Official website
• Official fan club

Antonello Venditti
Antonello Venditti in 2008
Background information
Born	(1949-03-08) 8 March 1949 (age 63) Rome, Italy
Genres	Pop Pop rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1971–present
Labels	It RCA Italiana Philips Heinz Music Buena Vista/Walt Disney
Website	www.antonellovenditti.it

Antonello Venditti (born 8 March 1949) is an Italian singer-songwriter who became famous in the 1970s for the social themes of his songs.

Biography[link]

Antonello Venditti was born in Rome, the son of a police commissioner from Molise, who would later become deputy-chief of police in Rome.

He studied piano in his youth and made his debut in the music world in the early 1970s at the Folkstudio of Rome, together with singers like Francesco De Gregori and Giorgio Lo Cascio. In duo with the former he released in 1972 his first LP, Theorius Campus. The LP scored little success, but Venditti at least made himself noted for the strength of his vocal qualities and for his attention to social issues, evidenced by pieces like Sora Rosa which is sung in Roman dialect. Also in dialect was Roma Capoccia, a declaration of love for his city, which later became one of his most famous songs. Curiously, Venditti refused to sing it for several years, as he considered it not politically or socially "engaged" enough.

Venditti subsequently moved to Milan and released L'orso bruno (1973), made in collaboration with musician Vince Tempera; this album included another song in dialect, E li ponti so' soli, but otherwise was marked by an even stronger attention to social themes. His next work, Le cose della vita ("Things of Our Life"), released the same year for the colossus RCA Music, confirmed this tendency. The following LP Quando verrà Natale ("When Christmas Comes") was similar; its even more naked arrangements emphasize the strength of Venditti's denunciation. After a live performance of the song "A Cristo" ("To Christ"), he was denounced by an Italian police officer for blasphemy. Venditti, however, was later totally acquitted.

Although Venditti's use of religious language was not typical of the culture of the left, his manner of life in the late '60s and the '70s was, as he later told the journalist Giampaolo Mattei, a "secular" one: "They were years in which the influence of the left was really strong and the life of us young people then was somewhat orphaned of God. I think it was the everyday life of the time that led me to participate in and embrace certain things. I emerged from that when I realised it was a dead end because it took away people's happiness. Maybe it did give them social growth, but about happiness it had nothing to say. Too much materialism and too little spirituality. A whole generation grew up with that materialism, with certain slogans."^[1]

Venditti's fortunes grew and peaked in 1975, with the LP Lilly. The yearning title-track was another strong accusation, this time against drugs, but it achieved an outstanding success anyway. Other famous pieces in the album were "Compagno di scuola" ("Schoolmate") and the long ballad "Lo stambecco ferito" ("The Wounded Ibex"), the story of a corrupt Northern Italian tycoon. Venditti continued to deal with front-page matters in his next LP, Ullalà (1976), whose "Canzone per Seveso" was about the industrial accident in July that year.

Political involvement, however, had side-effects on Venditti's inspiration in the late 1970s, marked in Italy by the growing menace of terrorism and by the strategia della tensione: some events (like the public booing of his friend De Gregori by politicized fans during a show) forced him to rethink his way of being a public personality. Sotto il segno dei pesci ("(Born) Under Pisces", 1978) contained more personal and intimate themes. The eponymous track scored a great success, but was largely misinterpreted as a song about a woman: it actually referred to Venditti's career, as he was in fact born "under the Pisces sign".

Success was, however, marred by his divorce from his wife Simona Izzo. She won custody of Venditti's son, Francesco Saverio. The following LP, Buona domenica (1979), was strongly marked by this difficult period. It contained, however, several classics, like the title-track and the ballad Modena, which featured Gato Barbieri on saxophone and is considered one of Venditt's finest works.

In 1982 the bitter Sotto la pioggia marked Venditti's passage to his own label, Heinz Music, and the beginning of the long-lasting collaboration with producer Alessandro Colombini. The following year A.S. Roma, his city's football team, won its long-awaited second scudetto: Venditti was therefore called upon to take part in the official celebration show, and the song that he composed for the occasion, "Grazie Roma" ("Thank You Roma"), turned into a great success, surprisingly not just in Rome. Venditti had already composed several songs about his favourite football team; some people criticized them harshly, mostly because of the strong contrast with the political-social themes of his other songs.

In the following years, and notably in the 1990s, Venditti's inspiration seemed to become more mainstream and commercial. His LPs (Cuore, In questo mondo di ladri, Benvenuti in Paradiso, Prendilo tu questo frutto amaro) were very successful, but his former themes were absent, or generally less stressed. Pieces like "Notte prima degli esami" or "Ma che bella giornata di sole" (about the Italian Liberation Day of September 1943) were anyway praised by critics. Among the songs of this period, "Dolce Enrico", from the LP Benvenuti in Paradiso (1991), was dedicated to the former leader of the Partito Comunista Italiano, Enrico Berlinguer, who died in 1984.

Antonello nel Paese delle Meraviglie ("Antonello in Wonderland") of 1997 featured his greatest hits accompanied by the Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra of Sofia, directed by Renato Serio. Goodbye Novecento (1999) gave increasing attention to social and historical themes, but had a sub-par success by Venditti's standards. In 2001 A.S. Roma again won a scudetto, and Venditti played again in a free concert in the Circo Massimo for an immense audience of tifosi and lovers of his songs. His latest studio release is Che fantastica storia è la vita ("What a Fantastic Story Life Is", October 2003). Gato Barbieri played with Venditti in this release. After resolving the difficulties in his friendship with Venditti, told in the latter's 1979 song "Scusa Francesco" ("Sorry Francesco"), De Gregori is also present as singer in "Io e mio fratello" ("Me and My Brother"). The album also contains a satire of Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi ("Il Sosia").

In April 2008, in an interview with a Catholic website, Venditti spoke of his faith in Christ, his devotion to Padre Pio and his respect for Pope Benedict XVI, and also mentioned having been assaulted when he was sixteen by a malevolent entity which he identified with Satan.^[2] This led the media to class Venditti with other high-profile show-business converts like Claudia Koll (who was also attacked by a malevolent entity) and Giovanni Lindo Ferretti,^[3] although actually his conversion long predates theirs.^[1][4]

In October 2009 Venditti was criticized for asking, during a concert in Sicily, "Why did God create Calabria?" and declaring that "there is really nothing" in Calabria. Calabria is a region in South Italy. In the past it was colonized by the ancient Greeks and became the cradle of Magna Graecia, but now it is also the base of the modern crime organization 'ndrangheta. Venditti later made peace with Calabria over a cup of good coffee at his house in Rome with the mayor of Reggio Calabria, Giuseppe Scopelliti.^[5]

Soundtracks[link]

Venditti released the soundtrack for the 1985 movie Troppo forte by his friend, the Roman director Carlo Verdone. Verdone also occasionally played drums in Venditti's concerts.

Discography[link]

• Theorius Campus (1972) (With Francesco De Gregori under the collective byname of Theorius Campus)
• L'orso bruno (1973)
• Le cose della vita (1973)
• Quando verrà Natale (1974)
• Lilly (1975)
• Ullalà (1976)
• Cronach (1977)
• Sotto il segno dei pesci (1978)
• Buona domenica (1979)
• Sotto la pioggia (1982)
• Circo Massimo (1983, live)
• Cuore (1984)
• Centocittà (1985, live)
• Venditti e Segreti (1986)
• In questo mondo di ladri (1988)
• Gli anni ’80 (1990, collection)
• Diario (1991)
• Benvenuti in Paradiso (1991)
• Gli anni '70 (1992)
• Da San Siro a Samarcanda – L’amore insegna agli uomini (1992, live)
• Prendilo tu questo frutto amaro (1995)
• Antonello nel Paese delle Meraviglie (1997, live)
• Goodbye Novecento (1999)
• Se l'amore è amore... (2000, collection)
• Magic in the Streets: Parade Memories (2001, track 9 only)
• Circo Massimo 2001 (2001, live)
• Il coraggio e l’amore (2002, collection)
• Che fantastica storia è la vita (2003)
• Campus Live (2005, live)
• Diamanti (2006, collection)
• Dalla pelle al cuore (2007)
• Le donne (2009)
• Unica (2011)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Solegemello, Antonello Venditti-Solegemello-web site
• Vendittando, Venditti blog