MODANATURE. – A term that encompasses all the minor members of architectural orders.
There are eight principal m.: listello (fillet), tondino or astragalo (astragal), toro (torus), echino (echinus), cavetto or guscio (cavetto), cyma recta (cyma recta), cyma reversa (cyma reversa), and scotia; these are called simple or compound depending on whether their profile is determined by a single geometric curve or by two or more curves joined together. The m. that form cornices, bases, and imposts of columns and piers serve particular functions of separation (listello, scotia), support (echino, cyma reversa), and protection (cavetto, cyma recta). The greater or lesser emphasis of individual m. must be studied in relation to light and sightlines: strong, direct light produces intense shadows and therefore requires less sharp profiles, whereas diffused light necessitates deep recesses to avoid a flat and monotonous effect; if the viewpoint is too close, special devices and perspective distortions are employed. The combination of various m. (torus, fillets, scotia in bases; fillets and echinus in Doric capitals; cyma recta and cyma reversa, fillet, cavetto in cornices, etc.) determines the profile of certain architectural elements.
Mario Zocca
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MODENA, ARCHDIOCESE OF. – Located on the consular Via Aemilia in a fertile region between the Secchia and Panaro rivers. Provincial capital, metropolitan see of 22 sq. mi., with suffragans Reggio Emilia, Carpi, and Guastalla. Seat of the regional ecclesiastical tribunal of Emilia. The Abbey of Nonantola (v.) has been permanently united to it since 1 May 1926, having previously been held in commendam since 15 December 1820. Area: 2,200 sq. km., with 340,500 inhabitants, of whom 340,000 are Catholic. Parishes: 218; diocesan priests: 354; regular clergy: 80; 14 male and 26 female religious communities; 3 seminaries: the major one, formerly with theological faculties, in Modena; the minor ones in Nonantola and Fiumalbo. Patron: the most venerable bishop of Modena and wonder-worker, St Geminianus.
I. CIVIL HISTORY
Its history begins with the Boii of Cisalpine Gaul. In the 3rd century BC it passed to the Romans. From 88 BC it was the scene of sieges and struggles between Pompey and Brutus, Brutus and Mark Antony, Mark Antony and Octavian, occasioning Cicero’s remark (Philippics V, 9.5) that Modena was “firmissimam et splendidissimam populi Romani coloniam.”
It likewise declined during the barbarian invasions, but began to revive through the efforts of Bishop Leoncino (891) and Matilda of Canossa. A free commune from 1135–1228, then almost uninterruptedly under the Este family, first as imperial vicars and later as dukes, who in 1598, after losing Ferrara, made Modena the capital of the Duchy. In 1860 it was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy.
II. CHRISTIANITY AND PRINCIPAL BISHOPS
Of the ancient diocese of Modena, secure records only begin in the 4th century, dominated by the figure of the great bishop St Geminianus, friend of the exiled St Athanasius and almost certainly the same “Geminianus” present at the Council of Milan in 390. Other bishops: Theodulus, restorer of the cathedral (4th century); Guido, archchancellor of King Berengar II and Otto I; Dodone, who presided at the translation of the body of St Geminianus into the new basilica (1106); Ardizzone, under whom Lucius III consecrated the Duomo (1184); Alberto Boischetti, distinguished for learning and piety (d. 1264); Egidio Foscherari, an illustrious member of the Council of Trent; Giovanni Morone, cardinal, who founded the seminary and was the last president of the Council of Trent; Roberto Fontana, who published the Synod held in 1647; Francesco Emilio Cugini, first archbishop of Modena; Natale Bruni, who issued the Synod of 1913 and built the monumental temple to the fallen (d. 1926).III. ABBEYS AND SHRINES
Besides Nonantola (v.), the Abbey of St Peter in Modena city is important; its first mention dates from 983, when the then-bishop granted to Priest Stephen the site “ubi iam Ecclesia beati Petri Apostoli fuerat aedificata” for building an oratory. In 996, John, bishop of Parma, added a monastery entrusted to the Benedictine Order. The monastery prospered, received donations and dependent churches, then declined. Eugenius IV in 1434 entrusted it to the Congregation of St Justina in Padua, and it briefly flourished again. In 1476 the dilapidated church was demolished, rebuilt and consecrated in 1518, rich in fine paintings and sculptures by Begarelli. Today the monastery depends on the Congregation of St Paul Outside-the-Walls.The shrine of Fiorano, 20 km from Modena, is noteworthy. It arose in 1634 in honor of an ancient miraculous image of the Virgin, designed by L. B. Avanzini in the ancient castle of the same name, first recorded in 1108. The façade is sober and slender, with two bell towers and a central dome; inside, the church, in the Greek cross plan, was repainted by Maialesta (1866).
IV. ILLUSTRIOUS MEN
Sadoleto (v.) and Giovanni Pico, Count of Mirandola (v.); the heroicomic poet A. Tassoni (v.); the critic Lodovico Castelvetro (1505–71); the anatomist Gabriele Falloppio (1523–62); and the musician Orazio Vecchi (1551–1605). The architects Iacopo Barozzi, Vignola (v.), born in the province of Modena; Guarino Guarini, a Theatine (1624–83); and Luigi Poletti (1792–1869), restorer of St Paul’s in Rome. The painters: Barnaba and Tommaso da Modena, Bartolomeo and Agnolo degli Erri among the primitives; between the 15th and 16th centuries, Francesco Bianchi, Bartolomeo Jonasia, and Domenico Carnevali; in the 16th century, Niccolò dell’Abate, Francesco and Ercole Setti; in the 17th, Bartolomeo Schienoni and Sigismondo Caula; in the 18th, Francesco Vellani; in the 19th, Adeodato Malatesta and Giovanni Muzzioli. Sculptors: G. Mazzoni (d. 1518) and A. Begarelli (d. 1565). Historians: the philologist C. Sigonio (d. 1584) and the great L. A. Muratori (v.). Archaeologists: the priest Celestino Cavedoni (1795–1865) and Pietro Bortolotti (1818–94).V. ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES
State Archive; Historical Municipal Archive, founded in 1888; Chapter Archive of the Cathedral, with 71 codices (the oldest from the 7th century) and 1,200 parchments dating from 750; Notarial Archive dating from 1271.The Estense Library is among the richest in Italy for illuminated codices, manuscripts, and rare books. It originated as the Estense Library, formed in Ferrara in the first half of the 15th century and steadily expanded; in 1598 it was transferred to Modena, where it had distinguished librarians such as Muratori and Tiraboschi. Principal collections: the Estense and Campori manuscripts, together comprising over 11,000 volumes and 142,000 autographs and documents; the Muratorian Archive; the Music Section. Printed works: 1,600 incunabula, over 300,000 volumes, and 60,000 pamphlets. Of particular interest is the Permanent Book Exhibition, divided into four sections: miniatures, woodcuts, copper engravings, and artistic bindings, centered on the Borso Bible (15th century). It is joined to the University Library, with 65,000 volumes, 30,000 pamphlets, 5 incunabula, and 51 manuscripts.
VI. CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS
1. University: traces of the ancient Studium date from the 12th century; in the 13th it was made famous by Ruggiero Beneventano and Guido da Suzzara. It was, however, Francesco II d’Este who deserves credit for founding a “Universitas Studiorum” housed in the Collegio dei Nobili (1663). Francesco III revived it in 1774 and built the present university palace. It now has faculties of medicine, pharmacy, physical and natural sciences, law, and mathematics. 2. Academy of Sciences, Letters, and Arts in Modena, founded in 1680. In 1841 it began publishing the Memorie, which have exceeded 50 volumes. 3. Deputazione di Storia Patria for the Modenese provinces. Created in 1860 in union with Parma, it became autonomous in 1892 and has issued 22 volumes of Monumenti and 7 series of Atti e memorie.VII. MONUMENTS
The Ducal Palace, seat of the military academy; the Collegio S. Carlo, the Palazzo dei Musei, which houses the lapidary museum, the Estense and university library, the medal collection, the municipal historical archive, and the Estense Gallery rich in paintings by the Carracci, Tintoretto, Veronese, Velázquez, etc. Notable for its namesake gallery is the Palazzo Campori. Artistic churches include S. Domenico, S. Agostino, S. Bartolomeo, and S. Pietro, but especially the Cathedral: in Lombard Romanesque style, built at the expense of the people of Modena and Countess Matilda on the site of the ancient 4th-century basilica. Begun in 1099 according to the design of the architect Lanfranco, “mirabili artifex, mirificus edificator,” already in 1106 Pope Paschal II consecrated the altar of S. Geminiano in the crypt, as attested by coeval inscriptions on the Cathedral and the precious Relatio published by Muratori (RIS, VI, pp. 85 ff.). From this period date: the pontifical door, with its own steps, two Roman lions, and bas-reliefs by Wiligelmo; other bas-reliefs by Wiligelmo on the façade and the Porta dei Principi, and the famous one by Niccolò on the Porta della Pescheria, depicting legendary scenes from the Breton cycle of King Arthur. On 12 July 1184 the Cathedral was consecrated by Pope Lucius III, as recorded in a contemporary inscription. During the time of the Campionesi Masters, the Basilica was enriched with the rose window on the façade and the grand royal door (Anselmo da Campione, 13th century). Inside, in basilica form with three naves and three apses, crypt, and presbytery, stands out the pontile, parapet, and ambo, with sculptures by the Campionesi brothers (1170–1220). The choir, in intarsia, is by Cristoforo and Lorenzo da Lendinara (1465). The crypt, supported by sixty marble columns with elaborately worked capitals, mostly in Romanesque style, houses the marble sarcophagus of the most venerated Geminiano, whose image is there, a work by Bartolomeo Schedoni (1600). By his brief of 20 July 1934, Pius XI declared the Cathedral a minor basilica.The Ghirlandina: an artistic tower of the Cathedral, 86 meters high, built with large marble blocks, has in Romanesque style the first five panels; the octagonal section with spire, begun in 1261 to a design by Arrigo da Campione, was completed in 1319. Until
the public Synod of 1913, he built the monumental temple to the fallen (d. 1926).