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Guide to Verona Italy
Introduction. The city existed in prehistoric times, when it was populated by the Cenomani tribe. It became a Roman colony in 89 BC and rapidly prospered due to its location at the junction of main roads between Italy and northern Europe. As the Roman empire declined, Verona was occupied by the Ostrogoths, who made it a central military base, with a castle on the site of the present Castel San Pietro. The city was ruled by Lombardy until it was captured by Charlemagne in 774 AD and became the residence of his son Pepin. Verona became an independent city state in the early 12th century, supporting the Ghiberline party, under the rule of the della Scala lineage. During the reign of Bartholomew della Scala, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet lived, loved and died in Verona. Their legend is immortalised by Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet. Relics of their lives can be found at the Tomb of Juliet, Romeo's House, and Juliet's House. Verona was captured by the Visconti family, rulers of Milan, in 1387 and in 1405 fell to Venice, which held it until 1799, when Venice was conquered by Napoleon, who promptly sold all Venetian territories to Austria. In 1866, following a referendum, the city was united to the Kingdom of Italy.
Itinerary.
Starting at the railway station, walk along the Corso Porta Nuova, until
you reach the Amphitheatre.
The Amphitheatre, known locally as The Arena, erected 30 AD, is an ancient Roman theatre which hosted gladiatorial games, animal spectacles and public executions. It is not the largest structure of its kind, but it is the best preserved. Although the Verona Amphitheatre could not match the Coliseum at Rome, it drew crowds from all over Northern Italy and could hold 30,000 spectators. The sparkling effect which you can see in the stone work comes from the mica in the pink limestone, quarried in Valpolicella. The building suffered the effect of a major earthquake in
1117 AD, when it fell into disuse. The Amphitheatre was restored during the Renaissance and today is host to operatic performances, thanks to its excellent acoustics.
Proceed North-West along Via Amfiteatro and Via Stella, until you reach Via Cappello (400 yards). Here turn left and on the other side of the street, (100 yards) you find Juliet's House. Enter the courtyard and you find the balcony from which Juliet addressed her lover. A plaque on the wall narrates the lines from Shakespeare:
'But soft what light from yonder window breaks?
It is the East and Juliet is the sun.'
Note the graffiti on the walls scrawled by generations of lovers, leaving their marks at the home of the heroine, whose name is synonymous with young love! See and touch the statue of Juliet, now worn down centuries of handling. The house contains furniture from the 16th and 17th centuries, together with paintings relating to the story of Romeo and Juliet. The house belongs to the Cappello family, the Capulets of Shakespeare's play. Note the family coat of arms on the centre-stone of the courtyard archway. The story of Romeo and Juliet is an ancient one, predating Shakespeare by three centuries, and it is likely that Shakespeare picked it up from his reading of travellers accounts, or perhaps he visited Italy himself.
Continue along the Via Capello until you come to an oblong piazza. This is the Piazza Erbe, built on the site of Verona's Roman forum and is now a market square full of busy stalls selling all manner of produce. In the centre of the square is a Roman statue, discovered in the Middle Ages, now fitted with a female head, wearing a spiked crown and known as 'Our Lady of Verona'. At the end of the square is a tall pillar, surmounted by a statue of the Lion of St Mark, and dating from 1523, symbolising Venetian dominance of Verona. Behind the column, you will see the ornate baroque Pallazzo Maffei, now used as shops and offices. From the courtyard of the Palazzo del Commune, you can gain access to the Lamberti Tower with panoramic views of the city.
Just off the North side of the Piazza, you will find the Piazza dei Signori. Here you see a bronze of the poet Dante, brooding pensively. Dante was a guest of Cangrande della Scala, when exiled from his native Florence. The grateful Dante mentions Cangrande in his Divine Comedy, saying 'even his enemies would be unable to keep silent about him.’ To the right, you will see the Scaglieri Palace, once the seat of Verona's government, now housing, in the basement, an interesting collection of Roman mosaics.
Walk north from the Piazza, where you will find the church of Santa Maria Antica, which house the monolithic tombs of the Scala family, The Scaliger Arches. [Five star rating!]
The enormous carved marble statues are placed in the open air as they are too large to fit into the church. Access to the tombs can be found inside a marble balustrade, surmounted by an iron railing, patterned with a ladder design. The original Scalas were ladder makers and the word 'scala' in Italian means ladder. A closer view of the tombs shows a marble sarcophagus surmounted by an equestrian armoured statue of the lord. The large tomb near the gate belongs to Mastino II and the largest one inside the balustrade belongs to Consignorio. The one with the smiling effigy is Cangrande. His smile is so broad that he looks happy to be dead. The effigies of Mastino and Cangrande are copies but you can see the originals in the museum. H V Morton, in his A Traveller in Northern Italy, recounts an interesting anecdote about Mastino II. After his death, an audit of his finances revealed that he might have been filtering off state funds for his own personal use. This raised the question of sins, which had not been specifically forgiven in his deathbed confession. A priest was therefore engaged to make the precarious ascent to the arches, and sprinkle holy water onto the tomb and pronounce the words of absolution for any sins which Mastino might have inadvertently forgotten.
TO BE CONTINUED including Juliet's tomb and Romeo's house.
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