Modena, historical center

 city, historic city center

Mutina was proclaimed a Roman colony in 183 B.C., but its earlier history had roots in the Etruscan period.

With the arrival of the Romans the city took on a new urban layout, fostered by the great land drainage works, and was connected directly to the main highway of Via Emilia, which became the most important east-west road.

It was a prosperous municipality in the imperial era, but with crisis of the empire it began to decline. The wars between Constantine and Massenzio (312 A.C.) and especially the floods, of which the worst was in the 6th century, forced the inhabitants to move out of the city.
The hamlet subsequently began to take shape again and in 891 walls were built around it.
This was solely due to the tenacity of the bishops, who refused over the centuries to allow the remains of the patron, St. Geminian, to be moved from the ancient basilica where they were kept. turismo.comune.modena.it/