Modena - Palazzo Ducale

In the north of the old town of Modena in Piazza Roma, about 500m/550yd northeast of the cathedral, rises the massive Palazzo Ducale, begun in 1634 in accordance with a plan by Bartolomeo Avanzini, an excellent example of secular architecture of the 17th century. The balustrade is decorated with numerous figures, depicting the virtues and figures of mythology; the doorway is flanked by massive figures of Hercule and Aemilius Lepidus. The Palazzo Ducale is now a military academy and is not open to the public.