# Ferrara and Modena: 1995 and 1997 on the UNESCO list

> Ferrara's UNESCO site covers 46,712 hectares with the Po delta. Modena's Ghirlandina, 89.32 m, is climbed in booked turns of 25 every 45 min, €6 (2026).

URL: https://myitalia.it/attractions/ferrara-e-modena
Last updated: 2026-09-11

Ferrara and Modena are two separate UNESCO sites in Emilia-Romagna: Ferrara's Renaissance city with the Po delta since 1995, and Modena's cathedral, Torre Civica and Piazza Grande since 1997, where the Ghirlandina tower is climbed only by booking.

## Ferrara: 46,712 hectares, city and delta

Ferrara's site, "Ferrara, City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta", covers 46,712 hectares with a buffer zone of 117,649. It takes in the historic center, the walls, the Castello Estense, the Cathedral of San Giorgio and the reclaimed lands of the delta.

It was inscribed in 1995 and extended in 1999 to add the delta, which is why the area is so large for a city listing. Much of that area is reclaimed delta land, not streets.

The urban core of the argument is the Addizione Erculea, Biagio Rossetti's expansion of the city, which is why Ferrara is considered the first Renaissance city laid out to an overall plan.

## Modena: the Ghirlandina, 89.32 meters, 25 per turn

The Ghirlandina is 89.32 meters high and is climbed only by booking, in turns every 45 minutes with a maximum of 25 people, for €6 full and €4 reduced (2026).

It opens 9:30 am to 7 pm from April to September and 9:30 am to 6 pm from October to March. The number of steps is not published on the official page, so it isn't given here.

Twenty-five people every 45 minutes is a small allocation for a tower on a main square, so the booking is the first thing to arrange, not the last.

## Seven UNESCO sites in one region

Emilia-Romagna has 7 UNESCO sites (2026). Ferrara and Modena are two. The others are the early Christian monuments of Ravenna, the porticoes of Bologna, the evaporite karst caves of the northern Apennines, the theater system of central Italy, and the ancient beech forests shared with six other regions.

The two on this page make a contrast rather than a repeat: a whole Renaissance city with its delta in one, a single square with its cathedral and tower in the other. The mosaics are at [Ravenna](/attractions/mosaici-di-ravenna) and the porticoes at [Bologna](/attractions/portici-di-bologna).

## In Modena, the Museo Enzo Ferrari opens daily

The Museo Enzo Ferrari in Modena is a 5,000-square-meter aluminum building built around Enzo Ferrari's birthplace, and it opens every day (2026).

Hours are 9:30 am to 7 pm in April, May, September and October, 9 am to 7 pm from June to August, and 9:30 am to 6 pm from November to March. It closes only on December 25 and January 1.

It is in the city, unlike the Museo Ferrari, which is a separate site in Maranello about half an hour's drive away. Both are covered at [Motor Valley museums](/attractions/motor-valley-musei), and the region at [Emilia-Romagna](/regions/emilia-romagna) and [UNESCO sites in Emilia-Romagna](/unesco/in-emilia-romagna).

## FAQ

### Do you need to book the Ghirlandina tower?

Yes. The Ghirlandina in Modena is climbed only by booking, in turns every 45 minutes with at most 25 people each, for €6 full or €4 reduced (2026). The number of steps is not published on the official page.

### How tall is the Ghirlandina?

89.32 meters. The tower has been part of Modena's UNESCO site, with the cathedral and Piazza Grande, since 1997. It opens 9:30 am to 7 pm from April to September and to 6 pm from October to March (2026).

### What does Ferrara's UNESCO site include?

The historic center, the walls, the Castello Estense, the Cathedral of San Giorgio and the reclaimed lands of the Po delta: 46,712 hectares, with a buffer zone of 117,649. It was listed in 1995 and extended in 1999 to take in the delta.

### Is the Museo Enzo Ferrari in Modena or Maranello?

In Modena. The Museo Enzo Ferrari is a 5,000-square-meter aluminum building around Enzo Ferrari's birthplace, open every day, while the Museo Ferrari is a separate site in Maranello. The Modena museum closes only on December 25 and January 1 (2026).

## Sources

| Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Il sito UNESCO 'Ferrara, citta' del Rinascimento, e il suo Delta del Po' e' iscritto dal 1995 e copre 46.712 ettari con una buffer zone di 117.649 ettari, includendo il centro storico, le mura, il Castello Estense, la Cattedrale di San Giorgio e le terre di bonifica del delta; Ferrara e' considerata la prima citta' rinascimentale sviluppata con un piano urbanistico complessivo, l'Addizione Erculea di Biagio Rossetti. | [Ministero della Cultura - Ufficio UNESCO](https://unesco.cultura.gov.it/projects/ferrara/) | medium | 2099-12-31 |
| La Torre Ghirlandina di Modena, alta 89,32 metri, fa parte dal 1997 del sito UNESCO che comprende anche il Duomo e Piazza Grande; si visita solo su prenotazione, con turni di ingresso ogni 45 minuti e un massimo di 25 persone per turno, al costo di 6 euro intero e 4 euro ridotto (2026). | [VisitModena - Comune di Modena](https://www.visitmodena.it/it/scopri-modena/arte-e-cultura/il-sito-unesco/torre-ghirlandina) | medium | 2027-06-30 |
| In Emilia-Romagna ricadono 7 siti UNESCO del Patrimonio Mondiale (2026) | [UNESCO World Heritage Centre](https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/it/); [Ministero della Cultura - Ufficio UNESCO](https://unesco.cultura.gov.it/projects/); [Wikidata (query SPARQL su P1435=Q9259, P17=Q38, P757, P131)](https://query.wikidata.org/sparql) | medium | 2027-08-31 |
| Il Museo Enzo Ferrari di Modena, un edificio in alluminio di 5.000 metri quadrati costruito attorno alla casa natale di Enzo Ferrari, apre tutti i giorni: 9.30-19.00 in aprile-maggio e settembre-ottobre, 9.00-19.00 da giugno ad agosto, 9.30-18.00 da novembre a marzo; chiude il 25 dicembre e il 1 gennaio (2026). | [VisitModena - Comune di Modena](https://www.visitmodena.it/it/scopri-modena/terra-di-motori/i-luoghi-dei-motori/motori-museo-enzo-ferrari-modena) | medium | 2027-06-30 |

## Image

https://media.myitalia.it/media/region.emilia-romagna.v2.1600.jpg
Author: Carlo Pelagalli. License: CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0).
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brisighella,_Panorama_dalla_Rocca_Manfrediana._A_sinistra_la_Torre_dell%27Orologio_-_panoramio.jpg

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