Teatro Comunale Modena
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". 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
"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
