What to see in Verona, itinerary including the main monuments and places of interest, including Arena, Castelvecchio, Piazza delle Erbe and Casa di Giulietta
Tourist information
City of Veneto and capital of the homonymous province, Verona is located along the banks of the Adige river, about thirty kilometers from Lake Garda.
The historic center of the city, rich in history and art, is included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The presence of man in the Verona area is evidenced by findings dating back to the Neolithic period, including those relating to the fortified village that was located on the current hill of Castel San Pietro.
As for the peoples who inhabited ancient Verona before the arrival of the Romans, there are conflicting opinions, it is certain that around the third century BC the first contacts between Verona and Rome began, and during the first century BC, after having built the Via Postumia which served as a link, the Romans began to transform the village into a flourishing city with important monuments, including the amphitheater built in the first century AD, corresponding to today's Arena.
The urban layout of the city has its origins in the Roman city.
Two walls dating back to Roman times, which still included Porta Borsari and Porta Leoni, the forum, built in correspondence with today's Piazza delle Erbe and on which sides were the capitol, the Basilica and various public buildings .
You can still admire the Roman theater of the first century BC. and the Ponte Pietra sull'Adige, the only Roman bridge that survived the time.
With the end of the Roman Empire, Verona was invaded first by the Ostrogoths and then by the Lombards.
Subsequently, with the victory of Charlemagne over the Lombards, the Carolingian Empire began.
The current structure of the basilica of San Zeno, one of the Romanesque masterpieces in Italy, dates back to the tenth and eleventh centuries, and in the twelfth century the Cathedral of Santa Maria Matricolare was rebuilt, again in Romanesque style.
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The city always remained faithful to the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, even during the years following the eleventh century, when there was a long period of struggles for the seizure of power, until the birth of the Municipality in 1136 and the subsequent dispute between Guelphs and Ghibellines.
The Montecchi, made famous by the drama of Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, were among the main exponents of the Ghibellines and in 1223 the Ghibelline Ezzelino III da Romano was elected Podestà.
In 1259 after Ezzelino's death, the city government changed its shape and passed from the Municipality to the Signoria with the election of Mastino della Scala as podestà.
Under the rule of this family, the city experienced a new period of splendor and importance, famous artists were hosted, including Giotto, Petrarca and Dante Alighieri, built palaces, castles and churches.
What see
The many buildings built in this period include the Palazzo del Podestà, the Palazzo di Cansignorio, of which only an original tower remains, while the rest of the building dates back to the sixteenth century, the Castelvecchio, the most important military monument of the Scaligera lordship, the Ponte di Castel Vecchio, the Torre del Gardello, the Scaliger Arche and the adjacent Church of Santa Maria Antica.
After the defeat of Antonio della Scala and a short period of domination by the Visconti, in 1405 the city offered itself to Venice.
From the fifteenth to the seventeenth century, under the Republic of Venice, there was a new artistic and cultural renaissance.
Many works were entrusted to the Veronese architect Michele Sanmicheli, who embellished Verona with numerous palaces and, on behalf of the Serenissima, took care of the construction of the entrance doors to the city.
Venetian times include Palazzo Canossa, Palazzo Pompei, Palazzo Bevilacqua, Palazzo Della Torre, Palazzo Turchi and other palaces, located respectively in Piazza dei Signori and Piazza Erbe, including the Loggia del Consiglio and Palazzo Maffei.
In 1796 Napoleon's troops entered the city, a year after Napoleon, with the Treaty of Campoformio, ceded Verona to the Austrians, who took control of it until 1866, excluding a short period in which Verona became part of the Italian Kingdom.
Various fortification works were carried out under the Habsburg rule, as the city, being at a strategically important point, needed an adequate defensive infrastructure.
In 1866, with the conquest of Veneto by the Savoys, the Austrians abandoned the city, which could thus become part of the Kingdom of Italy.
On a visit to the city of Verona we cannot rule out a stop at Juliet's house, where the famous balcony is located.
The building, dating back to the thirteenth century, belonged for a long time to the Cappello family.
The surname was made to coincide with that of the Capulets, lineage to which Juliet belonged, the main protagonist of Shakespeare's tragedy.
The Arena di Verona is a Roman amphitheater and represents the most seen monument in this city. In Roman times, gladiator fights were held there while today it is the most important open air theater in the world.
Piazza Bra ', whose name derives from the German and means broad, constitutes a meeting place for the Veronese.
The Town Hall is located in Palazzo Barbieri, located on the side of the Arena. Piazza Erbe, where the fruit and vegetable market has been held for centuries, includes historic buildings and monuments including the Case dei Mazzanti, Palazzo Maffei, Torre del Gardello, the Fountain with the statue of the Madonna of Verona.
