It’s the setting of the world’s greatest love story, but Verona has more to offer than just Romeo and Juliet. While romance, conflict and passion shaped the city, it’s the Roman, medieval and Renaissance architects that earned it UNESCO World Heritage status.
Verona’s remarkably well-preserved architecture is crowned by its magnificent amphitheatre, the Arena, which has remained intact for two centuries. 25,000 spectators still take to its marble seats during Verona’s summer opera festival.
Known as piccolo Roma (little Rome), Verona’s narrow streets are a rich collection of beautiful buildings and baroque facades. With its stunning historic monuments, wide variety of restaurants and fabulous shopping, Verona has all the ingredients for the perfect weekend break.
Roman gates, sections of the original city wall and other ruins are found at every turn. The elegant, three-storey Porta rises wonderfully above Corso Porta Borsari, the city’s best shopping street.
Still, it’s Romeo and Juliet who have left the greatest mark. Discover the amour and agony of devotion at the 14th-century balcony of Casa di Giulietta, where lovers graffiti hopeful pleas on the courtyard walls.
Romeo’s banishment took place in the magnificent Cortile del Mercato Vecchio, while the tale’s epilogue leads visitors to Juliet’s tomb in the crypt of San Francisco al Corso monastery.
Verona has more than its fair share of beautiful churches. With elegant rounded arches and soft yellow stone, the magnificent Basilica of San Zeno Maggiore is regarded as one of the finest Romanesque buildings in the world.
Rising above the whole city is Castelvecchio, the ancient castle which overlooks the surrounding Valpolicella and Soave wine districts. But little beats striding along the Via Mazzoni to peek into its boutique shops and designer chains, or visiting the buzzing market stalls on Piazza delle Erbe.
Situated in the affluent and culturally rich Veneto region of north eastern Italy, Verona is within a few hours train ride or car journey from Venice, Vicenza and Padua, so works well as a base from which to explore this particularly beautiful and historic part of the country.
History of Verona
With records of a settlement existing at least 550BC, Verona became a Roman colony in the 1st century BC. Thanks to its location straddling the main east-west and north-south trade routes, it was a key base for the empire, which built impressive gateways and a grand amphitheatre.
The city’s prime location was not lost on other powerful regional players and with the fall of the Roman Empire, Verona was conquered by Ostrogoths, Lombards and Charlemagne. Finally, in the 13th century, it came under the control of the Scaligeri dynasty.
They may have been tyrants, but the family fortified Verona and extended the city’s influence to Vincenza, Padua and Treviso. They were also great patrons of the arts. Dante, Petrarch and Giotto all thrived here in 13th and 14th centuries, and the city experienced a mini golden era of peace and prosperity.
But family feuds and fratricides eventually took their toll, and by the 15th century, Verona was under Venetian rule. Under them, the great city gates of Porta Nuova and the Porta Palio were constructed, as was Piazza Brà. Venice ruled the city until Napoleon’s armies swept through the peninsula in 1797. Then Verona was passed as a war trophy to Austria and it only rid itself of foreign domination during the unification of Italy in the 1860s.
In 1882, a terrible flood destroyed much of the historic centre. The city’s iconic high walls were thus erected to protect it. However, they weren’t strong enough to repel the bombs of the Allies in WWII, which again damaged much of the city. 40% of the buildings were wrecked, as well as all the bridges which were destroyed by the retreating Germans. Reconstruction was intensive and prolonged, and restoration took place where it could. In the end, enough of Verona survived for it to be named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000.
- Did you know?
- Built in AD30, much of the original Verona Arena is still preserved. However, an earthquake in 1117 completely destroyed the amphitheatre’s outer ring.
- Rubbing the right breast of a Juliet statue at Juliet’s House is thought to bring good fortune for those unlucky in love. Unfortunately for the forlorn, the bronze sculpture was removed and replaced in 2014 after the caressing caused too much damage.
- Verona was part of Austrian-ruled Venetia until 1866, when the region became one of the last to join the Kingdom of Italy.