What is Spilamberto known for?

Home of the Consorteria dell'Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena since 1967, which certifies the DOP twelve- and twenty-five-year product. Walnut liqueur from green walnuts picked on the night of San Giovanni; the Ordine del Nocino sits in the Torrione. Fortress held by the Rangoni marquises of Modena for 650 years, restored and reopened to the public for cultural events.

Where is Spilamberto?

Spilamberto is a comune in the province of Modena, Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, about 16 kilometers from Modena.

Emilia-Romagna · Modena

Spilamberto

A 69-meter Po-plain town on the Via Romea, headquarters of the Consorteria that codifies Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena since 1967.

16 km / 10 mi

Nearest hub (Modena)

12,825

Population

Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Spilamberto sitson the right bank of the Panaro, fifteen kilometers southeast of Modena, on the line of the ancient Via Romea that ran from northern Europe to Rome. The town is documented from 776. The Rangoni family of Modena held it for more than 650 years, and the Rocca Rangoni they built still anchors the centro storico. The Torrione, the medieval bell tower at the edge of the borgo, houses the Antiquarium archaeological museum and the headquarters of the Ordine del Nocino Modenese. In 1967 a group of local enthusiasts founded the Consorteria dell'Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena here, which still certifies the twelve- and twenty-five-year-aged DOP product through annual blind tastings. The Museo dell'Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale at Villa Fabriani lays out the cycle: cooked grape must, decreasing-size casks, fifty years of attic seasoning. The Via Vandelli, the eighteenth-century Este road that ran from Modena to Massa, leaves the town heading south toward the Apennines.

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Gallery

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Known for

Rocca Rangoni
Medieval fortress held by the Rangoni family for 650 years, recently restored and used today for events and exhibitions.
Torrione
Medieval bell tower at the edge of the borgo, housing the Antiquarium museum and the headquarters of the Ordine del Nocino Modenese.
Museo dell'Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale
Museum at Villa Fabriani tracing the production of the DOP traditional balsamic vinegar, from cooked must through fifty-year cask seasoning.
Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista
Parish church from the seventeenth century, with a 1685 façade and an interior holding works from the Modenese baroque school.
Greenway del Panaro
Cycle and walking path running along the river bank, connecting Spilamberto to Vignola and the Modenese plain to the Apennines.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September through October are the months for Spilamberto. The Greenway del Panaro runs without crowds, the cantine open their tasting rooms, and the Mast Còt festival in October pulls together producers from the entire Modenese balsamic chain for two weekends of new-must boiling and old-cask tasting. July and August are heavy on the plain; thirty-five degrees and humidity that doesn't drop after dark. The Nocino di San Giovanni in late June is the traditional walnut-liqueur night, when green walnuts are picked under the full moon. November through March is foggy and quiet, with most acetaie open only on weekend tours.