Modena ZTL: hours, cameras and who can drive in

Checked on 22 October 2026 against the city's ordinances and official pages.

Right now in Modena

ZTL Centro storico …
Corsie riservate (Via Emilia Centro, Corso Duomo, Piazza Roma) …
Aree pedonali del centro storico …

Worked out with Italian time and public holidays from the official hours. The sign at the gate always prevails.

Between January and 1 September 2026, the cameras in Modena's historic centre generated 31,075 fines for unauthorised entry, plus another 9,818 for driving in the reserved lanes of via Emilia Centro and corso Duomo. The reason is simple: the ZTL is closed at all times, and the council sells no ticket to tourists. The cameras read number plates on the way in and on the way out.

If you are coming to see Piazza Grande, the Cathedral and the Ghirlandina tower, leave the car at the edge of the centre, unless you are staying inside the zone, driving a fully electric car or holding a disabled parking badge. The rules may soon change: on 20 October 2026 the council announced a new ordinance and a larger zone, starting with piazza Sant'Agostino. No date has been set.

The zones and their hours

ZTL Centro storico

Everything inside the ring of boulevards. The roads that form the boundary (viale Martiri della Libertà, viale Vittorio Veneto, corso Cavour and others) are outside the zone. At the largo Porta Sant'Agostino gate, the entrance to the car park stays open.

It is closed to unauthorised vehicles 24 hours a day, every day, Sundays and public holidays included: there is no quiet hour when you could slip through.

11 number-plate cameras (“varchi”) watch the entrances.

List of the 11 cameras (varchi)

Largo Porta Bologna · Vicolo del Cane · Via Saragozza · Via Francesco Selmi · Corso Canalchiaro · Largo Porta Sant'Agostino · Via Ganaceto (angolo Corso Cavour) · Via III Febbraio · Corso Accademia Militare · Via Mascherella · Corso Canalgrande (angolo San Giovanni del Cantone)

Corsie riservate (Via Emilia Centro, Corso Duomo, Piazza Roma)

Via Emilia Centro between vicolo Squallore and via Torre, the stretch running past Piazza Grande, corso Duomo, and the lanes on piazza Roma in front of the Palazzo Ducale. Only the first two have a camera. Buses, taxis and private hire cars (NCC) may pass without stopping; guests of a hotel inside the ZTL may also cross via Emilia Centro, but not stop.

It is closed to unauthorised vehicles 24 hours a day, every day, Sundays and public holidays included: there is no quiet hour when you could slip through.

2 number-plate cameras (“varchi”) watch the entrances.

List of the 2 cameras (varchi)

Via Emilia Centro (tra Vicolo Squallore e Via Torre) · Corso Duomo

Aree pedonali del centro storico

Piazza Grande, piazza della Torre, piazza Mazzini (except its northern carriageway), piazza XX Settembre, via Albinelli with the covered market, via Goldoni and others; piazza Roma has its own rules. Taxis may enter only to pick up or drop off there. Since June 2026, chains have again closed Piazza Grande on the corso Canalchiaro side.

There are no time slots here: the ban applies day and night, all year round, public holidays included.

Who can drive in

Motorbikes and scooters: free everywhere except in these zones: Corsie riservate (Via Emilia Centro, Corso Duomo, Piazza Roma) and Aree pedonali del centro storico, where the same rules as for cars apply.
Disabled parking badge: the number plate must be reported before you drive in or within 48 hours afterwards.
Electric cars: free permit, open to non-residents too, to be requested from the city.
Hybrids: no exemption for private drivers.
Residents: permit.
Deliveries and tradespeople: paid permit.

Visitors: hotels, rental cars, tickets

Staying in a hotel

Only accommodation located inside the ZTL can register your number plate. A hotel outside the zone gives you no right to drive in. It must do so no later than 48 hours after you enter. Give your plate number to reception as soon as you arrive.

Using a car park inside the zone

The garage registers your plate. Check with the attendant when you arrive.

Tickets for non-residents

There is no day ticket for tourists. Temporary permits do exist (€5 for 24 hours), but only for the specific cases the city lists, not for sightseeing. The simplest option is to park outside and walk or take a bus.

Rental cars

The fine notice goes to the rental company, which names you as the driver and usually charges an admin fee, before the fine itself reaches you, sometimes months later. A registration made in time by your hotel or garage covers a rental car just as well: all that counts is the number plate.

The €5 day passes are not for tourists: they cover only deliveries, weddings, urgent call-outs and a few other cases. They must be requested before entering, through a portal that only accepts an Italian digital identity (SPID, CIE or CNS). You are better off parking at the Parcheggio del Centro (Novi Sad), at largo Porta Sant'Agostino or at Porta Nord.

At a hotel or B&B inside the ZTL, registering your plate is free, provided you stay the night. The property can also give you a permit to display behind the windscreen; under the ordinance, it lets you park free of charge, with no time limit, in the nearest permitted areas. A staffed car park inside the ZTL reports your plate within 48 hours, but you may only drive there and back.

Electric cars: report the plate before entering or within 48 hours. Disabled badge: holders living in Bologna, Forlì, Parma or Ferrara enter with no formalities, thanks to a regional data exchange; we found no sign that Modena has joined the national platform. Everyone else uses the same SPID portal.

From Saturday 8 am to Sunday 10 pm, concrete blocks slow traffic at five entrances to the centre, on trial until 31 December 2026; they do not change who may enter. Residents' permits are priced by the length of the car, and deliveries have two time slots (5 to 10.30 am Monday to Saturday, 1.30 to 4.30 pm on weekdays). Ufficio Autorizzazioni ZTL: 059 2033192, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 am to 1 pm.

Modena in numbers

3 separate zones, all of them active around the clock.
At least 13 cameras in total.

Where official sources disagree

Taxis and NCC: the 2020 ordinance lets them in without a permit, yet a page updated on 5 October 2026 offers them a free “permesso giornaliero”. We follow the ordinance; the page probably means vehicles from other towns, but does not say so.
Hotels: the ordinance describes a paper permit, the July 2025 page describes entering plates on the portal within 48 hours. Both probably apply (the plate for the cameras, the paper permit for parking), but no page says so.
Regional exchange of disabled badges: the Region's page of 5 October 2026 first says it is “working on” the system, then that it already runs between five cities; the council confirms it. We treat it as active.
Electric cars of non-residents: free parking depended on the regional “Mi Muovo Elettrico” permit, a scheme the council says has ended (November 2025). The 2013 rule has not been repealed, but is no longer guaranteed.
Pedestrian areas: the March 2025 page leaves out via Goldoni and still gives 30 minutes for unloading; the ordinance includes the street and allows 45 minutes. We follow the ordinance.

If you drive in without a permit

Driving past an active gate without a permit costs €83 to €332 (article 7 of the Italian Highway Code), cut by 30% if you pay within 5 days. Since the 2024 reform, when the passages are recorded by camera rather than by an officer on the spot, only one fine per calendar day applies for the same ban, even if you drive through several times (article 198). No licence points are deducted. If you think you were entitled to enter (hotel, disabled badge), contact the office named on the notice before paying: a late registration can sometimes still be sorted out.

Frequently asked questions

Can I drive into Modena's centre to visit Piazza Grande?

No, except in special cases: the ZTL is closed 24 hours a day and there is no tourist ticket. Park at the Parcheggio del Centro or at largo Porta Sant'Agostino and walk from there.

Is Modena's ZTL open at night or on Sundays?

No, never, including public holidays. The cameras also record exits.

My B&B is inside the ZTL: what should I do?

Give the property your plate number; it registers it free of charge within 48 hours of your entry. Even then, do not stop on via Emilia Centro.

Can a hybrid or electric car enter?

A fully electric car can, free of charge and at any time, if the plate is reported before entering or within 48 hours. A hybrid cannot.

I have a foreign disabled parking badge: how do I get in?

Report the plate on the Polizia Locale portal, before entering or within 48 hours; it is free. The portal requires SPID, CIE or CNS, and the council gives no other route for a one-off visit.

Sources

Based on the city's own ordinances, rewritten in plain language. Only the ordinance in force and the sign at the gate are legally binding.