Modena ( Latin = Mutina ) was a Celtic people who were conquered by the
Romans in 218 BCE, and later became a city in northern Italy.

As a free commune, it was the scene of violent conflicts between
papal and imperial factions until it passed to the house of
Este in 1288 when it became a duchy. The city faired well and
prospered exerting great influence on Renaissance literature
through its support of poets and dramatists.

In 1852 Modena issued it's very first postage stamp and a few years
later it came out with a ' newspaper tax stamp ' ( to be applied to
incoming foreign journals delivered by the post office ) as a near copy
of it's first stamp, but with different color and value. And just a few
years after this issuance the last of the Este representatives of Modena
declared it part of the kingdom of Italy, a decision confirmed
by the plebiscite of 1860. and so the Duchy disappeared
along with it's unusual ' newspaper tax stamps '.