San Cataldo cemetery is made up of two very different areas.
The first was built in the 19th century by Cesare Costa; the second one was projected in 1971 by the famous architect Aldo Rossi.
The XIX-century part is rectangular, characterized by a Doric four-sided portico with tympanums and niches. In front of the entrance, there is the memorial to World War II, in particular to those partisans who helped liberate the town and earned for Modena the award of the golden medal for military valour. In the centre, a work of sculpture by Arnaldo Pomodoro.
In this cemetery, are buried many famous Modeneses. First of all, Enzo Ferrari (1898-1988), maybe the most well-known Italian in the world, founder of the great car racing stable. There are also the tombs of Nicola Fabrizi (1804-1855), patriot of the Risorgimento; of Virginia Reiter (1862-1937), popular actress; of Alberto Braglia (1883-1954), who won three gold medals in the Olympic Games of Athens, London and Stocholm (the city football stadium is dedicated to him); of Paolo Ferrari (1822-1889), comedy writer; of Telesforo Fini (1888-1971), genial restaurateur and entrepreneur; of the two mayors Luigi Albinelli and Alfeo Corassori. There are also the tombs of the most important family in the history of the town: Campori, Rangoni-Machiavelli, Montecuccoli degli Erri and so on. One is also dedicated to the cadets of the Military Academy°°.
Near to the main courtyard, the Jewish cemetery (where a building dates back to 1903), whose haphazard tombstones bare witness to the many Jews who lived in the town.
The new part of the cemetery, dating from 1971, and not yet completed, was designed by the famous architect Aldo Rossi (winner of Prize Pritzker). It is a very long edifice with few windows and a high roof with a deep pitch. The most interesting element is the ossuary, a big red cube, empty in the interior, characterized by regular deep set windows which create particular light effects. The cemetery is one of the most important works by Aldo Rossi, as it clearly represents his poetic style.
Outside of the cemetery, the Madonna del Murazzo church, in gothic style, has a high, well proportioned bell tower.
