← Default view

Modena · IT & Tech · Annual Planner

2026·MO

The two weekends to book — and the year that frames them.

Only two windows actually pull a tech-curious traveller to Modena: the spring burst around Motor Valley Fest (May 28–31)[1] and the autumn arc from DevFest Modena → Smart Life Festival (Oct 3–18)[5][8]. Everything else on this calendar is a meetup-evening backup — pleasant, but not worth re-anchoring a weekend around.

May
28–31
Thu → Sun

Motor Valley Fest 2026

8th edition[4]. The closest Modena gets to a global tech-and-industry crossover — AI, software-defined vehicles, autonomous driving, virtual racing — wrapped in motorsport culture.

Speakers
200+ intl.[2]
Round tables
20
Opening
Teatro Storchi[3]
Thu 28
Opening keynote — "Global Trends, New Frontiers and Human Responsibility"
Fri 29
Tech-heavy day: SDV · autonomous · connected mobility · space economy
Sat 30
City-wide programming · Ferrari · Lamborghini · Maserati · Ducati · Pagani · Dallara · Accenture
Sun 31
Closing day · exhibitions city-wide
Oct
3–18
Sat → Sun · 16d

DevFest → Smart Life Festival

Co-themed "IntelligenzE" — natural, artificial and human intelligence[8]. DevFest is the warm-up; Smart Life is four free days across the city. Sandwich them with a weekend for the Michelin dinner.

DevFest attendees
600–800[6]
DevFest tracks
AI · Cloud · Web · WIT
SLF cost
Free[7]
Sat–Sun
Oct 3–4
DevFest Modena 2026 · Fondazione San Carlo · 30-min sessions · organized by six local communities[5]
Thu–Sun
Oct 15–18
Smart Life Festival · 11th ed. · Sala Pucci · Chiesa di San Carlo · Lab. Aperto[7]
Sat
Oct 24
Linux Day Modena · separate weekend · open-source only[14][15]

The year, at a glance

Motor Valley Fest DevFest Smart Life Festival Linux Day AI Center Academic Indie SaaS
January01 · 31d
MTWTFSS
···1234 567891011 12131415161718 19202122232425 262728293031
No headline events — meetup-only month.
February02 · 28d
MTWTFSS
······1 2345678 9101112131415 16171819202122 232425262728
19–20IRCDL · 38 papers · Tecnopolo
Sat 28Indie SaaS Day · Lab. Aperto
March03 · 31d
MTWTFSS
······1 2345678 9101112131415 16171819202122 23242526272829 3031
Fri 13UniMORE AI Center inauguration · 100+ researchers
April04 · 30d
MTWTFSS
··12345 6789101112 13141516171819 20212223242526 27282930
Meetup-only month.
May05 · 31d
MTWTFSS
····123 45678910 11121314151617 18192021222324 25262728293031
28–31Motor Valley Fest · Teatro Storchi + city-wide
June06 · 30d
MTWTFSS
1234567 891011121314 15161718192021 22232425262728 2930
ML Modena Wed Jun 17 · meetup cadence holds.
July07 · 31d
MTWTFSS
··12345 6789101112 13141516171819 20212223242526 2728293031
Summer lull — most groups pause.
August08 · 31d
MTWTFSS
·····12 3456789 10111213141516 17181920212223 24252627282930 31
Italian holiday month. City quiet.
September09 · 30d
MTWTFSS
·123456 78910111213 14151617181920 21222324252627 282930
Meetup season restart. Calendars wake up.
October10 · 31d
MTWTFSS
···1234 567891011 12131415161718 19202122232425 262728293031
3–4DevFest · Fond. San Carlo
15–18Smart Life Festival
Sat 24Linux Day · MakeIt
November11 · 30d
MTWTFSS
······1 2345678 9101112131415 16171819202122 23242526272829 30
Post-festival quiet. Meetups resume normally.
December12 · 31d
MTWTFSS
·123456 78910111213 14151617181920 21222324252627 28293031
Holiday wind-down. Year closes.

Monthly meetups · the quiet backbone

monthly summer pause DevFest co-organizer
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Yr·DevFest
GDG Cloud Modena350
10×
Modena Full Stack773 · 4.8★
10×
Flutter ModenaGoogle·net
10×
ML ModenaUNIMORE
10×
Conoscere Linux (LUG)est. 2005
11×
Reggio E. Full Stack~30min train
10×

The six groups above collectively organize DevFest Modena[5] — so any monthly evening puts you in the room with the people running the headline conference. All free, mostly Italian-language with code/slides in English.

Four buildings host almost everything

cluster within Modena's centro storico + Tecnopolo
Theater

Teatro Storchi

Motor Valley Fest opening keynote venue[3]. Historic theater · central.

Hosts: Motor Valley Fest
Conference building

Fondazione San Carlo

Historic theater & conference complex. DevFest's home venue[6]; also a Smart Life Festival venue.

Hosts: DevFest · Smart Life
Innovation hub

Laboratorio Aperto

Ex-AEM power plant restored. 545 sqm gallery · two coworkings · conference room[18].

Hosts: Smart Life · GDG Cloud · Indie SaaS
Research park

Tecnopolo · AI Center

UNIMORE research park. AImageLab + ELLIS Modena + AIRI; de facto AI hub of Emilia-Romagna[16]. Industrial zone — not walking distance.

Hosts: IRCDL · academic conferences

Three things to know before you book

01 · Pair with the dinner
Motor Valley Fest is Thu–Sun; Friday's tech day pairs naturally with a Saturday-night Michelin seating. The October arc gives more weekend choices — DevFest (Sat) or Smart Life opening (Thu Oct 15) both work as anchors[8].
02 · Language
Most events run in Italian, slides often English. Smart Life Festival is largely Italian-language. DevFest historically has a mix.
03 · Side-trip
Reggio Emilia is 25 minutes by train — worth noting if a sister meetup or a restaurant pulls you there[21].

Sibling sub-topics · same weekend

Expedition
Things to do in Modena
A 2-day Modena plan: UNESCO trio + Albinelli on day one around the Michelin dinner, Ferrari or acetaie on day two. Skip Sun/Mon if you can.
Survey
Michelin 2 and 3-star restaurants in Modena
Modena has exactly one 2★-or-3★ Michelin restaurant — Osteria Francescana (3★). The 2-star tier is empty; nearest 2★ is San Domenico in Imola, ~1h drive.
Modena · IT & Tech 2026 · Calendar view 21 sources · canonical = survey depth