Visit to Modena’s Town Hall: “Thread Paintings” in the Tapestry Hall

Visit to Modena’s Town Hall: “Thread Paintings” in the Tapestry Hall

On Sunday 3 May the Town Hall opens its historic rooms for a themed guided visit titled “Illusions and looms in French fashion. Warps and wefts representing peace”. The visit starts at 15:15, with meeting at 15:00 on the first floor reached via the staircase at Piazza Grande 16.

The route focuses on the Tapestry Hall, a space rich in historical and symbolic meaning. The guide will illustrate the scenes depicted on the walls — including Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, the birth of the Lombard League and the Peace of Constance of 1183 — and explain the artistic and technical value of tapestries, described as genuine “thread paintings.”

Highlights of the guided tour include:

• historical episodes represented in the tapestries and their political context;
• technical features of tapestries: materials (wool, silk, sometimes metallic threads) and loom weaving processes;
• the influence of French fashion on the style and prestige of court-commissioned tapestries;
• a comparison between the textile language of tapestries and the paintings by Girolamo Vannulli in the Historic Rooms.

The visit provides an integrated reading of art and history, showing how woven narratives convey events, ideals and social power across centuries.

Practical information

• Date: 3 May 2026
• Visit time: starts at 15:15 (meeting at 15:00)
• Meeting point: first floor of the Town Hall, access via the staircase at Piazza Grande 16
• Ticket: €5 from age 13; free for visitors with disabilities and their companions
• Booking: mandatory through the Visitmodena website
• Info and contacts: IAT – Tourist Information and Welcome Office, Piazza Grande 14; phone +39 059 2032660

This visit is ideal for those interested in monuments, local history and textile art: a chance to examine decorative masterpieces up close and explore key medieval events that shaped northern Italy.