The best museums Emilia-Romagna

At the end of Corso Mazzini, this 1930 th century bridge, rebuilt in the s, links the historic centre to the Oltretorrente. Its underground passage houses the remains of the Roman bridge.

Housed in the beautiful 15th century Ghisilardi Fava palace, this museum contains many works of art: bronze sculptures (Mercury by Jean de Boulogne) and stone sculptures from the 14th to the 17th century, weapons, reliquaries... It also preserves the sculpted tombs of former professors of the University of Bologna. Some are monumental and imposing. One will have fun observing, on their sides, the bas-reliefs representing the master dispensing his knowledge, surrounded by pupils with varied facial expressions, expressing sometimes reflection, sometimes perplexity, or even boredom...

The museum exhibits ceramics from all periods and countries. From Italian Renaissance earthenware to pre-Columbian ceramics, some date back to Prehistory while others are recent, works by Chagall, Léger, Matisse, Picasso and Rouault. On 18 January 2020 a new section dedicated to ceramics from Egypt and the Near East was inaugurated. The institution also organizes temporary exhibitions.

This museum is housed in the 16th century Palazzo Sanguinetti, some of whose rooms are decorated with superb trompe l'oeil frescoes. The collections are mainly the work of the Martini priest, a renowned musicologist and great scholar of the nineteenth century, who built up one of the world's largest collections of musical works. Correspondences with many composers of the time (Mozart, Bach) are a rich historical testimony. Exhibition of musical instruments.

Located inside the 14th-century church of San Nicolò, the museum offers an interesting itinerary to discover the art of mosaic and its history. Your ticket also gives you access to the Rasponi cripta which, together with the pleasant hanging garden, is the only remaining part of the Rasponi family palace. This seventeenth-century residence was replaced by the Palace of the Province, built in 1925 in Romanesque Revival style with Byzantine motifs.

Who, as a child, has never collected Panini stickers, to stick in an album on the theme of the football world cup or his favourite cartoon? Originally from Modena, the Panini brothers founded a publishing house specializing in figurines (self-adhesive images) in 1961. In the 1990s, the company donated 500,000 pieces (stickers, cigarette boxes, etc.) to the city of Modena, which made up the museum's collection. Part of it is on permanent display in showcases that evoke the pages of a scrapbook to be leafed through.

The Salt Museum retraces a very important part of the history of the city. Inaugurated in 2004, it occupies the rooms of the Magazzino Torre, an ancient salt depot built in 1691 and beautifully restored. The building up of the collection exhibited at the museum began in the 1980s when the "salinaro" (salt collector) Agostino Finchi, with the help of a group of enthusiasts, began to collect objects related to the history of the saltworks. Managed by old "salinari", this incredible museum tells visitors the story of salt collection in Cervia, through images, ancient objects, working tools and various documents. The tools on display are still in use today in the Camillone Saltworks, the open-air section of the museum that is still in operation. In the summer, the museum organizes old-fashioned salt harvesting activities open to the public. Finally, a section displays ancient mosaics from the 6th century church of San Martino and the remains of a ship dating back to the 4th-6th centuries.

Overlooking the Cervia Canal, the Magazzino Torre is a splendid example of industrial architecture. Just across the street is the Darsena depot, built in 1712 and today used for the organization of cultural events. Next to the Darsena depot is the Piazzale dei Salinari, a square in the shape of a quadrilateral in the centre of which you can see the fountain "Il tappeto sospeso", inaugurated in 1997 on the occasion of the tercentenary of the foundation of the new town of Cervia

The museum includes an archaeological section devoted to Roman Rimini, with mosaics and the collection of surgical instruments from the Domus del Chirurgo, as well as a pinacoteca with a large collection of paintings from the 14th to the 19th century. Noteworthy are works by Giovanni Bellini, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Guercino. Rooms are dedicated to René Gruau (pseudonym of Renato Zavagli Ricciardelli delle Caminate, 1909-2004), a Franco-Italian artist from Rimini, famous for his illustrations for fashion and advertising.

The Lamborghini Museum exhibits various models of the Italian manufacturer, and a timeline traces the major stages of the house. The visit is quite quick and can be completed by a visit to the factory, which is fascinating: you can admire the precise work of the mechanics, the meticulous assembly of each part, from the frame and the powerful engine to the bodywork and the hand-sewn leather seats. Only a few thousand copies a year come out of the factory.

This new space located in the brand's old factory is just a few kilometres from Bologna. It was designed by Tonino to retrace the story of his father Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916-1993), a farmer's child who, after founding a tractor company, became a car manufacturer. Several models are on display: the Miura SV, the Countach, the Espada. Photographs and the reconstruction of Ferruccio's first office retrace his career.

The Ducati story begins in 1926 in Bologna. Founded by the three Ducati brothers, the company was then active in the world of radio broadcasting, and after the war it moved into the motorcycle sector. The museum is divided into four rooms that follow the evolution of the company chronologically. They are arranged along a gallery displaying the motorcycle models that have marked Ducati's history from 1946 to the present day. The visit to the museum can be completed by a tour of the factory, which gives a more complete view of the manufacturer

The traditional DOP balsamic vinegar is rightly called "black gold" if we consider that it takes 500 kg of grapes to obtain two litres of vinegar and at least twelve years of patience before the first drops of the precious elixir are extracted from the barrel! Aware of the patrimonial value of this product, Modena founded its municipal vinegar factory in 2003, under the attic of Palazzo Comunale, where several batteries of barrels rest. The guided tour goes back over the balsamic production process and ends with a tasting session.