Modena, elegant flat with view on the Cathedral bell tower (Ghirlandina)

Usually, before showing properties to prospective buyers, I like to take a tour with them to get to know the reality in which the property is located. This beautiful flat is located in Modena. We are in the Po Valley, all around us there is splendid greenery, guaranteed by the presence of the Secchia and Panaro rivers. Modena is one of the economic hearts of Europe, home to famous food, engineering, textile and ceramic industries.

In this case, I started the tour by visiting the flat and then discovered the city later. We are in a small building 100 metres from the historic centre of Modena, on the fifth of eight floors in total. This flat is typical of well-to-do Modena families. It must be said that it would be splendid already as it is, with its antique furniture and bookcases, but it is being sold vacant and to be adapted to the needs of the new owners.

At present, a large wooden-floored entrance hall leads to an important living area of more than 55 square metres, composed of a bright living room where one can relax and watch TV, a cosy sitting room where one can chat while sipping tea, and a dining area where dishes are served from the adjacent eat-in kitchen. The living area is a flood of light from three large windows and a French window that opens onto one of the three balconies.

The internal structure is such as to allow for an open space or well-defined rooms; personally I would enlarge the kitchen to make it more liveable and connect it to the living area with a frosted milk-coloured window that filters light but maintains privacy.

From the entrance, equipped with a convenient hallway, one passes to the night area, separated from the day area; here we find a large corridor from which one accesses the three bedrooms: a first large double bedroom, a large single bedroom, both with their own balcony, a last spacious double bedroom, and finally two windowed bathrooms, one with shower and one with bathtub.

The large size of the corridor made it possible to create built-in wardrobes along the entire length so as to leave more space in the rooms.

A garage, a cellar and an attic complete this elegant flat.

Looking out from the balcony of the living area we can admire the Ghirlandina tower and it is from here that we will begin our visit to the city of Modena with an obligatory stop, since it is lunchtime, at Trattoria Aldina, in the market area of the city. I like the idea of ringing a bell and climbing the stairs to find a place where time has stood still and which exudes ‘Modenesity’, after all this is what life is all about, a nice house to live in, a good restaurant and good company.