In July 1942 seventy-three Jewish children, orphans who had come from the Balkans, arrived at Villa Emma; for a year they lived in the town openly. After 8 September 1943, in less than thirty-six hours, the people of Nonantola hid them in houses and convents, and then got them across to Switzerland with false papers stamped by the village blacksmith.
The other story is a thousand years older: in 752 duke Anselm founded the abbey here, which in the tenth century was as rich and powerful as Cluny, with a scriptorium famous across Europe. Pope Hadrian III was buried here in 885. Modena and Bologna fought over the place for centuries and left two towers: the Modenese one of 1261 and the Bolognese one of 1307. There are 15,179 residents.
Tagliatelle al Ragù · Aceto Balsamico di Modena
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Next up: Saint Sylvester, patron of the town of the great Benedictine abbey, Thursday 31 December
Nearest airport: Bologna Marconi, 25 km away
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📅 Every year, on 31 December
Nonantola celebrates Saint Sylvester on 31 December; the town is known for its abbey, among the most important in northern Italy in the Middle Ages.
Cooked grape must and wine vinegar aged in wooden barrels: Aceto Balsamico di Modena has held Protected Geographical Indication status since 2009.
Read more →Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Outside Nonantola, but an easy day trip away.
