Verona, Italy

"Romeo, Romeo, where art thou Romeo."  

“I am here in Verona, unwillingly,” replied Walter. 

And he was too.   Walter wanted to leave Lake Garda in the morning and head for the campsite in France.   But I persuaded him to stay and visit Verona. How can one be so close, and then depart without seeing Verona, the centre piece for Romeo and Juliet.

So we set off on the bus, tickets 5 Euros return, and the journey took one hour, through very interesting countryside.  The diesel may be expensive in Italy but the bus fares are cheap.    A good start. 

And we found a delightful city, so full of character, and charming buildings.      There were many tourists there, but room enough for everyone, and often there were only one or two people in the back streets, and in the churches.   

The breadth of history is enormous, from the Roman times to the present times.   Over the centuries Verona had been an important trading city, part of the Venetian, Hungarian and Hapsburg Empires.  It was part of Austria until 1866, before being included in the unification of Italy.   The influence of all these different periods of history can be seen in the buildings.

One of the gates leading into the old city.

 Our first port of call, other than McDonalds for a toilet stop, and drink of water, was the Arena (The Roman Amphitheatre).   This was built at the beginning of the 1^st Century AD, fifty years before the Colosseum was built in Rome..    The first gladiatorial had been held in 264 BC so not a new sport.  Over the years the arena has been used for other events, other than gladiator fights, and Christians being thrown to the lions.   Jousts, bullfighting, concerts, weddings and more recently operas have been held in the arena..   Luckily the arena was not demolished, as for centuries it was used as a source of building material, but in 1450 an edict forbade the removal of stones, as the leaders of the time recognized the arena  was of value and needed to be preserved.    Thank goodness for such foresighted people.

 The stone seats are still used at the top, but chairs have been built over the seats on the lower levels.   It was very high at the top, and very steep.   Not good for people who do not like heights, like me.

The view of part of the town, from one of the balconies in the Arena.

 We wandered around the old town, fascinated by all the buildings, and narrow streets, until we came to the Piazza Delle Erbe (The Vegetable Market).   We spent quite some time in this square.

 This building, called the Casa Mazzanti, is frescoed with allegorical figures.   Very ornate and interesting.

 Maffei Palace, with the figures of Hercules, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Apollo and Minerva figures along the top of the roof line.   This building dominates the square.

The tower standing high above the buildings.

  Behind the square was the sarcophagus, the tomb of Cangrade (1291-1329).   I am not sure who this man was really, but the tomb looks impressive.

 We walked to the old stone bridge, and looked across at the old and new castles.   An impressive array of cypress trees on view here too.   The river, not in this photograph, was swollen and flowing very fast.   All the water coming down from the mountains.

The Casa di Giulietta (House of Juliet).   Well there was some truth in the story of Romeo and Juliet, a little bit anyway, and very obscure, but stories via different sources (a bit like whispers) which Shakespeare picked up, and elaborated, in order to write Romeo and Juliet..  The house did belong to the Capuleti (Capulet) family, there was a crest there which identified as belonging to this family. You can write a message on the wall of the archway leading into the courtyard, but I decided to have my photograph taken instead.

Juliet's balcony, which started off as a sarcophagus, and then was attached to the wall, in order to make a balcony.   Recycling of old items! If you rub the breast of Juliet’s statue, which stands at the end of the courtyard, you will be lucky in love.   The courtyard was full of teenagers, who no doubt studied Romeo and Juliet at school.  

We had a really lovely day in Verona, and Walter enjoyed himself immensely too.