🇮🇹 Travel Notes: Where Sacred & Secular Perfectly Balance in Modena

Before our lunch at Osteria Francescana, we wandered through Modena’s heart. At first, I hesitated to enter its Romanesque cathedral, wrapped in solemn stone… but stepping inside? Pure magic. ✨ ⛪ Duomo di Modena: Two-tiered main chapel adorned with marble & intricate carvings, hinting at Gothic transition.😀 Below, a bronze dome glows mysteriously.🎉🎉 Yet, one side remains purely Romanesque—raw brick arches, clean lines, a stark modernity contrasting the lavish main altar. Unlike most cathedrals, its unrenovated interior (a happy accident!) creates an unexpected spatial poetry—one of the most architecturally rich churches I’ve ever seen. 🏛️❤️ 🍷 From Divine to Delicious: On the way to lunch, we stumbled upon a vibrant market—earthy mushroom scents, sparkling clean stalls. Regret hit hard: that fancy Michelin meal? Pales next to sipping frizzante here, feasting on local bites. 🥂🍴 Modena, where sacred grandeur and joyful earthly pleasures dance in harmony, is the most livable small city of my trip. #TravelDiaries #HiddenGems #SacredAndSecular #ItalyTravel #Modena #ArchitectureLover #Wanderlust ✨