Modena

Modena(Italian: [ˈmɔːdena]  is a city and (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.

An ancient town, it is the seat of an archbishop, but is now known as "the capital of engines", since the factories of the famous Italian sports carmakers Ferrari, De Tomaso, Lamborghini, Pagani and Maserati are, or were, located here and all, except Lamborghini, have headquarters in the city or nearby. Lamborghini is headquartered not far away inSant'Agata Bolognese, in the adjacent Province of Bologna. One of Ferrari's cars, the 360 Modena, was named after the town itself. One of the colors for Ferraris is Modena yellow.

The University of Modena, founded in 1175 and expanded by Francesco II d'Este in 1686, has traditional strengths in economics, medicine and law and is the second oldest athenaeum in Italy, sixth in the whole world. Italian officers are trained at the Italian Military Academy, located in Modena, and partly housed in the Baroque Ducal Palace. The Biblioteca Estense houses historical volumes and 3,000 manuscripts.

Modena is well known in culinary circles for its production of vinegar and also for its Military Academy, Italy's "West Point", which is housed in the Ducal Palace.

Catania

Catania is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily facing the Ionian Sea, between Messina and Syracuse. It is the capital of the Province of Catania, and is th

e second-largest city in Sicily and the tenth in Italy.

Catania is known for its seismic history, having been destroyed by a catastrophic earthquake in 1169, another in 1693, and several volcanic eruptions from the neighboring Mount Etna volcano, the most violent of which was in 1669.

Catania has had a long and eventful history, having been founded in the 8th century BC. In 1434 it witnessed the opening of the first university in Sicily. Then in the 14th century and into the Renaissance, Catania was one of Italy's most important and flourishing cultural, artistic, and political centers. Today, Catania is one of the main economic, touristic, and educational centers in the island, being an important hub of industry, with several high-tech businesses giving it the nickname, "European Silicon Valley"