Built starting in 1634 on a project by the Roman architect Bartolomeo Avanzini, the Palace housed the Estense Court for more than two centuries until the last Duke Francesco V of Austria-Este (1859). The Palace now houses the prestigious Military Academy of Modena.
Today the palace is the headquarters of the Military Academy and can be visited only with a guided tour on Saturdays and Sundays upon reservation.
The guided tour also includes the visit to the Military Academy History Museum where weapons and armatures, memorabilia, relics and military items (flags, uniforms, drums, etc.) are on display.
What can you expect from this experience:
The tour itinerary includes:
The Courtyard of Honor, the Parlatory, the Staircase of Honor, the Loggiato, the Museum Room of the Military Academy (the private apartment of the Dukes), the State Apartment
The visit lasts 1 hour and 30 from the meeting point at the tourist office. The visit inside the Palace lasts about 1 hour.
How to visit
The Ducal Palace of Modena is the seat of the Military Academy, and is therefore a place subject to particular visiting conditions.
The visits take place on Saturday and Sunday and are organized and coordinated by Modenatur.
Reservations are required by Wednesday before the visit.
It is possible to book online by credit card on this page (strongly recommended) or alternatively by e-mail by writing to info@visitmodena.it. In both cases, at the time of booking, it is necessary to communicate the following data for each participant for security reasons since the Palazzo Ducale is the seat of the Military Academy: name, surname, place and date of issue of the identity document, address of residence , identity document number, place of birth, date of birth.
Most of the tours are planned in Italian. If you wish to get a tour in English contact us by email at info@visitmodena.it and we will check if it will be possible. It's also possible to book a private tour in English, German, French or Spanish. In this case the cost is € 150 up to 15 guest and 10 euro each additional participants up to a max of 25 guests per group.
Terms and conditions
Visitors are requested to report, at the time of booking or in any case before the visit, to tel. 0592032660 or via email to info@visitmodena.it, the presence of cardiopathic people, people suffering from pathologies and with special needs in order to evaluate together the usability of the route as there are some architectural barriers in the Palace that can make the visit difficult or in some cases, not possible.
To visit the palace as a group you can send a booking request by e-mail to info@visitmodena.it or contact the office by phone (0592032660) to check the available dates and times.
The Palazzo Ducale is home to the Military Academy which reserves the right, in exceptional cases, to cancel the guided tours for any reason. Paid tickets will be refunded.
most of the tours online are in Italian. Contact us at info@visitmodena.it to ask for a tour in English