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Verona district guide
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With its wealth of
Roman sites and streets of pink-hued medieval buildings, the
easy-going city of VERONA has more in the way of sights
than any other place in the Veneto except Venice itself. Unlike
Venice, though, it's not a city overwhelmed by the tourist
industry, important though that is to the local economy. Verona
is the largest city of the mainland Veneto, its economic success
largely due to its position at the crossing of the major routes
from Germany and Austria to central Italy and from the west to
Venice and Trieste.
Verona's initial development as a Roman settlement was similarly
due to its straddling the main east-west and north-south lines
of communication. A period of decline in the wake of the
disintegration of the Roman Empire was followed by revival under
the Ostrogoths, who in turn were succeeded by the Franks:
Charlemagne's son, Pepin, ruled his kingdom from here. By the
twelfth century Verona had become a city-state, and in the
following century approached the zenith of its independent
existence with the rise of the Scaligers . Ruthless in the
exercise of power, the Scaligers were at the same time energetic
patrons of the arts, and many of Verona's finest buildings date
from their rule.
With the fall of their dynasty a time of upheaval ensued, Gian
Galeazzo Visconti of Milan emerging in control of the city.
Absorption into the Venetian Empire came in 1405, and Verona was
governed from Venice until the arrival of Napoleon. Verona's
history then shadowed that of Venice: a prolonged interlude of
Austrian rule, brought to an end by the Unification of Italy in
1866
The town
Coming from the
train station, you pass Verona's south gate, the Porta Nuova ,
and come onto the long Corso Porta Nuova, which ends at the
battlemented arches that precede the Piazza Bra . Here stands
the mightiest of Verona's Roman monuments, the Arena . Dating
from the first century AD, the Arena has survived in remarkable
condition, despite the twelfth-century earthquake that destroyed
all but four of the arches of the outer wall. The interior (Tues-Sun
9am-6pm, closes 3.30pm during the opera season, usually July-Aug;
3.10) was scarcely damaged by the tremor, and nowadays audiences
come to watch gargantuan opera productions where once crowds of
around 20,000 packed the benches for gladiatorial contests and
the like. Originally measuring 152m by 123m overall, and thus
the third largest of all Roman amphitheatres, the Arena is still
an awesome sight - and as an added treat offers a tremendous
urban panorama from the topmost of the 44 pink marble tiers.
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