Buongiorno Italia! Verona - The City of Romance
When it’s about travelling to Italy, most people immediately think of Rome, Venice or Florence. But there’s a city in the north of Italy that is at least equally as picturesque and romantic as the others are: Verona. And today, I’ll tell you all about this beautiful place on earth!
If you’re from Central Europe, heading down to Southern Italy, you pass by Verona on the highway. When spending time at the Lago Di Garda, Verona is just a few minutes from there. Therefore, it’s really easy to access and definitely worth a pit stop, a day trip or even a few days if you’d like to explore it in more detail.
Arena di Verona - Piazza Bra
The Arena di Verona is undoubtedly the most famous site in the city. It is a Roman amphitheatre located on Piazza bra. It is still used today for large-scale opera performances or other kinds of concerts. It will even be used for the closing ceremony for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
The Arena was built in AD 30 in this area, which used to be behind the city walls. It was able to host more than 30,000 people. Nowadays, around 15,000 people fit in there for opera performances. Lots of the building was destroyed in 1117 due to an earthquake. Intentions to use the Arena as an opera venue started already in the Renaissance and in the 1850s some performances took place due to the outstanding acoustics of the building. Until 2011 there were no microphones or loudspeakers used during the performances. If you visit Verona, definitely not miss out on checking what events or festivals take place in the Arena, as it’s an outstanding experience!
Piazza delle Erbe
The Piazza delle Erbe used to be the forum of the city during the Roman empire. It is a merchant’s square and surrounded by lots of important buildings. On the first picture, you can see the beautifully frescoed Mazzanti Houses, on the second picture the Torre dei Lamberti and on the third one the Palazzo Maffei. If you look closely, on the first picture, you can also see the top of the fountain of the square and slightly to the left the St. mark’s Lion (“Leone di San Marco”). It is undoubtedly one of those places in the city where you don’t know which way to turn and what to look at and photograph first. Everywhere you look is a piece of history to be found. If you are slightly exhausted from wandering around the city, you can also shop for food or souvenirs on the square, or take a break in one of the many cafés.
Casa Giulietta
If you read the title of this blog post, you noticed that I called Verona the “City of Romance”. The reason being not only the picturesque buildings all over the city centre, the flair and the pretty corners. Verona is well known to be the setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. It got so far that lots of people actually think Juliet lived there. But Juliet was not based on a real person, and therefore, the house is not related to the story. Also, Shakespeare apparently never visited the city himself.
In the Italian version of the play, the families are called Capuleti and Montecchi, and the house used to be inhabited by the Cappello family, a really close name. But the famous balcony was added to the building only in the 20th century. Beneath the balcony, you can also find a statue of Juliet, and it is said that rubbing her right breast brings luck in love. The walls beneath the balcony are covered with letters full of stories, hopes and dreams of visitors, and there are hundreds of love locks found in the area. This also inspired the film “Letters to Juliet” that became a huge hit a few years ago.
Ponte Pietra
The Ponte Pietra, which means stone bridge in Italian, can be found near the north-western end of the historical centre. It crosses the Adige river and was completed in 100 BC. It is a Roman arch bridge and the oldest bridge in the city. One of the arches had to be rebuilt in 1298, and four arches were blown up during World War II, they were rebuilt in 1957 with original materials. Other bridges nearby are, e.g. the Ponte Garibaldi. From the bridge, you have a stunning view of the surrounding buildings and towers, which is what makes Verona so unique and pretty to me.
Duomo di Verona
The Duomo di Verona, also called Cattedrale Santa Maria Matricolare, is one of the prettiest cathedrals and churches in the city. It is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and seat of the Diocese of Verona. On this site, two churches were located that had been destroyed in 1117 due to an earthquake. The Cathedral that is standing there nowadays was built in 1187 and has only sightly been modified during renovations. In front of the building, there is a statue of an angel.
If you enjoyed reading this post, or want to plan a trip to Italy, I’m sure you’ll enjoy reading more blog posts about this beautiful country. Feel free to click the link below and read about many, many more places in Italy, whether it may be in the north, south or central, I’m sure you’ll find more you’d like to read.
