Modena is the capital of one of the most advanced provinces in Europe, with a per capita value add of more than €27,000 and an unemployment rate of less than 3%.

Modena is located on the main commercial traffic routes between northern Europe and the Mediterranean: 30km from Bologna airport, 140km from Ravenna harbour, 150km from Milan and Florence, and three hours by car from Venice and Rome.

The province’s five industrial districts (specialising in high-tech mechanics and vehicles, biomedicine, ceramics, textiles/fashion and food) export goods worth more than €8bn to more than 180 countries. Modena has many small companies but is also home to larger firms such as Marazzi, Blumarine and Maserati. Several transnational enterprises, including Tetrapak, Gambro and Bosch have been attracted to Modena by the concentration of highly specialised and technologically advanced SMEs which are able to offer technical solutions.

Every year, 1000 new companies start business in Modena. One of the most rapidly expanding sectors is ICT.

Modena has 20 university departments, business service centres and more than 30 public and private R&D laboratories. And we are well connected: 170km of fibre optic network already covers 90% of the population, with another 200km are under construction.

Environment, art and culture

Our Roman cathedral has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Modena is home to a renowned military academy and world-famous museums.

Modena has more than 300 km of cycling lanes – one of the largest networks in Italy. We enjoy the presence of two nature parks, three nature reserves and several wildlife sanctuaries along two rivers. The town centre boasts more than 32m2 of green area per inhabitant.

Modena offers a large variety of locally made, internationally popular products: Lambrusco wine, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, Modena ham and traditional Balsamic vinegar.

We love sport: 40% of the population take advantage of Modena’s 500-plus sport centres. In an hour and a half, Modena residents can reach ski slopes in the Apennines as well as Rimini and the Liguria seaside region.

Theatre, cinema and music are popular. The province hosts 1500 performances a year, and there are 65 cinemas, 20 theatres. And Modena’s famous Philosophy Festival is a highlight of the year.

Our public and private healthcare services are excellent and uniformly distributed over the region. In June 2005 a new high-tech hospital was opened.

Primary and higher education

We pay special attention to children: in Modena there are more than 230 nursery and primary schools which are at the forefront of Europe in terms of facilities and teaching methods. We also have international schools for children ages three to 16.

Modena is the home of one of Europe’s most ancient universities. Students can choose between 10 faculties, 25 post-graduate courses and more than 30 academic libraries, many of them specialising in art, architecture, classical literature and economics. In addition, there is a National Research Center for nano-technology and nano-sciences, which hosts qualified international scientists and researchers from around the world.