Welcome to Verona
From Jesse's Journeys in Italy
Population: 243,474
(2003)
Official website:
Verona
Wikipedia:
Verona
Map:
MapQuest
Verona, of course, is "fair
Verona", home to literature's
most famous, star-crossed
lovers,
Romeo and Juliet. It
should not surprise you,
therefore, that Juliet's balcony
is one of Verona's most visited
tourist attractions (despite the
fact that
Shakespeare's characters
were fictional and no such
historical place exists).
Click here for an historical
summary of Verona.
UNESCO has declared Verona a
world heritage site; one visit
will tell you why. Sitting
on the banks of the fast flowing
River Adige at the foot
of the Lessini Mountains
(a
national park), the city has
an engaging vibrancy, a
welcoming, open atmosphere, and
an array of historical sites and
monuments that speak of a long
and colorful past. Those
of you who embrace Italian style
will find a wide variety of
fashionable shops, and a
plethora of good restaurants,
chic trattoria and cool cafes.
When you arrive in Verona, as a
starting place, we suggest you find
the expansive Piazza Bra in the
city's center, lined on one side
by a row of colorful shops, and
on the other by the Arena.
The Arena,
one of the best preserved Roman
amphitheaters in all of Italy,
originally built in the 1st
Century AD by the
Romans, and is still in use as
a setting for outdoor opera and
other cultural events.
After the Coliseum in
Rome and the arena in
Capua, the Arena is the
third largest Roman amphitheatre in
the country.
There are other Roman ruins in
the city to discover, most notably the
Arco dei of Gavi and the
Teatro Romano, also built in
the 1st century, also still in
occasional use as a theatrical
stage. You can find the
theater on the opposite bank by
crossing the Ponte Pietra
(stone bridge).
The Arco dei Gavi, demolished by
Napoleon's troops in 1805, was
rebuilt in 1932. It used to
straddle the principal Roman
road, now the Corso Cavour.
To find Juliet's fictional
balcony, proceed up the Via
Mazzini, past many more chic
shops to 23 Via Cappello.
Romeo's equally fictitious house
is marked by a plaque at No. 4
via Arche Scalinger.
Reversing directions on the via
Capello, you will come to
Piazza dell'Erbe, with its
lively vegetable market
surrounded by a number of
fascinating historical
buildings. A little
farther along through the narrow
medieval streets, is the
Piazza dei Signori, which
is dominated by the imposing,
even intimidating, Scaliger
tombs, resting place of the
"Dogs of Verona" (not the Doges
of Venice!). The Scala
family lorded over Verona during
the middle ages, taking on
canine names: Can Grande
(Big Dog), Mastino
(Mastiff), Cansignorio
(Lord Dog) etc. The area
around this remarkable site is
choc-a-bloc full of fascinating
architecture - houses, the odd
palace, even the remains of the
old Roman road.
Around the Piazza you will also
find the Palazzo di Comune
with its neoclassical facade, a
medieval tower, Il Torrei del
Lamberti, over 80 meters
high, the Palazzo Tribunale
(also known as the Palazzo
del Capitanio) and the
Loggia del Consiglio
originally built in the 12th
Century, but renovated
extensively in the 15th and thus
serving as a great example of
Veronese Renaissance
architecture.
The Scaligeri built a number of
important buildings in Verona,
but perhaps the most impressive
is their fortress, the
Castelvecchio, sitting on
the banks of the Adige.
Started in the mid 1300s, and
possessing its own bridge across
the river -the Ponte
Scaligero - the building is
still very much in use as
Verona's most important art
gallery and museum, containing
art and artifacts dating from
the 4th Century.
The Palazzon Pompeii,
designed by the architect
Sammicheli, whose work is
scattered throughout medieval
Verona, is now home to the
Natural History Museum.
The Duomo, built largely
in the
Romanesque style
in the 12th Century , but with
Gothic elements,
can't and shouldn't be missed -
it's too large, imposing
and important. Inside,
which is mostly Gothic, amidst
the multifarious splendor of the
place, in the first chapel to
the left, look for
Titian's "Assumption",
painted in 1335, a stunning
example of the master's work.
The Basilica di San Zeno
Maggiore, also Romanesque,
which
sits on the foundations of an
earlier churche, which itself
was built on an even earlier
church, is far more
impressive than the Duomo.
The Basilica and the adjacent 72
meter high campanile (bell
tower), built between 1123 and
1135, has too many fabulous
details to recount here, so
consult your guide book and read
more before you visit, or even
while on the spot.
We commend you also to the
Basilica San Lorenzo, built
in 1177, a beautiful small
church, built in alternating
layers of brick and stone, also
done in the Romanesque style. It's
interior is spare, almost
protestant - cool and calming.
The small Scaligeri family
church is another example of
Romanesque architecture.
Santa Maria Antica is
also built in alternating rows
of brick and stone. The
squared belfry has mullioned
windows in the
Gothic
style.
Lastly, the very large preaching
church of the Dominicans,
Santa Anastasia, built
between 1290 and 1481, has a
Gothic facade but with various
Romanesque elements on the
inside and out. Inside
there are a number of 15th
Century frescoes that will
capture your eye.
Other sites worth taking time to
discover include the gates in
the old Roman wall: Porta dei
Borsari with a facade from
the 3rd Century. The road
that comes into the old city
from this gate, the via Sacra,
passes several Renaissance
palazzi.
The area surrounding another
gate, the Porta dei Leoni,
dating to the 1st century, is an
active archeological site where
many other Roman era ruins have
been unearthed.
Well, there is a great deal more
to see besides these principal
sites. Indeed, the
individual sites seem almost
secondary to the overall
atmosphere. It is for this
reason that Julius Caeser
liked to spend time
relaxing here and why the place figures
largely in Dante's "Divine
Comedy". As we know, Shakespeare made
much ado about Verona in "Romeo and
Juliet". The city is oft
mentioned in the writings of
many others, the German, Goethe,
for one, the Frenchman, Paul
Valery, for another.
Go to
Verona and no longer wonder why
it exercises such imaginative
power over such genius.
By Vian Andrews, November 16th,
2005
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Region of
Veneto |
45°26′N 10°59′E |
Distances |
Vicenza -
62 km
Padua -
88 km
Trento -
99 km
Venice - 121 km
Treviso -
139 km
Milano -
168 km
Trieste -
262 km |
Directory |
|
Verona Window Box |
|
Contributions:
If
you would like to contribute information about
Verona, we'd love to hear from you.
Talk Italy Forums |
|
The Teatro Romano
is used as an
outdoor venue during
the July and August
opera season.
It seats 25,000 and
is an ideal backdrop
for opera.
But, make a
reservation, and
bring a cushion.
Those stone stalls
are very hard! |
|
|
The Piazza Bra
has a much different
odor than in
centuries past when
it was a livestock
market! At the
southern end, by the
City Hall you will
find a tourist
office where you can
find maps and
brochures that will
help you enjoy your
visit. |
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