What is Fanano known for?

Long-running tradition of sandstone carving, with workshops still active and an open-air museum of more than 200 contemporary sculptures. The 2,165-meter peak of the northern Apennines rises inside the municipal territory, shared with three neighbouring Modenese communes. The Chiesa di San Giuseppe, started in 1619, holds one of the most elaborate baroque interiors in the Modenese mountains.

Fanano is a comune in the province of Modena, Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, about 74 kilometers from Modena.

Emilia-Romagna · Modena

Fanano

A 640-meter stone-working town in the Modenese Apennines, set among Monte Cimone, Libro Aperto and the upper Frignano peaks.

640m

Elevation

74 km / 46 mi

Nearest hub (Modena)

2,943

Population

May–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Bandiera Arancione

Why come

Fanano sits at 640 meters in the upper Frignano district of the Modenese Apennines, fifty-five kilometers southwest of Bologna and inside the Parco del Frignano. Monte Cimone rises to 2,165 meters above the municipal territory, the highest peak in the northern Apennines, shared with Sestola, Fiumalbo and Riolunato. The town was founded in the eighth century by Anselmo, brother-in-law of the Lombard king Aistulf, who built the Monastero del Santissimo Salvatore and a Benedictine hospice on the trade route between Modena and Tuscany. The Este family ruled from the eleventh century and expanded the cross-Apennine commerce that defined the town. Fanano is known as the città della pietra for its sandstone workshops, still active, and hosts the International Symposium of Stone Sculpture, an open-air collection of more than 200 contemporary works set into the streets of the centro storico. The Chiesa di San Giuseppe, built from 1619, is one of the more elaborate baroque interiors in the Modenese Apennines.

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Gallery

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Known for

Chiesa di San Giuseppe
Baroque church begun in 1619, with one of the most ornate interiors in the Modenese Apennines.
Chiesa di San Silvestro Papa
Romanesque parish church with a stone façade and fourteenth-century frescoes in the interior.
Museo della Pietra Scolpita
Open-air collection of more than 200 contemporary stone sculptures placed through the centro storico, built up from the International Symposium of Stone Sculpture.
Monte Cimone
Highest peak in the northern Apennines at 2,165 meters, shared with Fiumalbo, Sestola and Riolunato, with Lake Ninfa at 1,500 meters on its eastern slope.
Torre dell'Orologio
Medieval clock tower next to Palazzo Lardi at the heart of the centro storico.

When to visit

Best months · May–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through October is the working season in Fanano. Late spring brings the high meadows into flower; June and July are hiking months on the Cimone trails, with the centro storico cool even when the Po valley below touches thirty-five degrees. September and October bring chestnut and porcini, the two products that drive the autumn sagre. November to April is winter mountain country: the Cimone ski lifts run from late November to mid-April depending on snow, with Sestola seven kilometers up the road taking most of the ski traffic. Mid-week stays in May, June and September are when the trails are open and the town keeps its quieter rhythm.