Verona Italy.
A Veneto town rich in history, culture
and wine and food tradition
Verona Italy, one of the most romantic towns ever, setting of the Romeo and Juliet story , a symbol of romantic love par excellence, the capital of music and poetry. Strolling around its historic centre with your significant other has no equal.
Verona Italy: suits everybody's fancy
The so called little Rome of Veneto is a lively town where you hardly get bored: from the opera in Verona to museums, antiques shops and prestigious brand stores, there are plenty of attractions.
The ancient town boasts an excellent food and wine culture, a fine cuisine that is the result of century old traditions. The today’s Verona is wealthy and lively and it also houses a university campus.
For those who like to enjoy wine and food getaways, the historical centre is rich in hostarias(traditional and cosy tavernas), restaurants and clubs.
The natural setting is very scenic and pleasant: the town lies between two bends of the Adige river, surrounded northwest by the last subalpine reliefs, gently sloping towards the plain.
Where to sleep in Verona Italy?
There are also plenty of hotels in Verona, both in the historic centre and in the outskirts: here you can find a selection of some boutique hotels in Verona, located in the historic centre, among the most charming and highly rated by guests.
Not far away westwards lies the charming lake of Garda, exerting a positive influence on the surrounding areas temperatures.
Near Verona, in the medieval town of Valeggio sul Mincio, lies another great destinations for your holiday in Veneto: it is about one of the gardens rated among the five most beautiful ones of the world - also described by Prince Charles as a unique wonder of the world: the Parco Giardino Sigurtà.
Very alluring is also the scenic hilly Valpolicella, the producing area of Amarone wine, ideal place for a wine tasting getaway.
For its historic heritage and allure Verona is part of the Heritage World List since 2000.
So if you are under time constraint, but you want to get an overview of Veneto, you cannot miss Verona: a getaway here for a day or two would be ideal.
Things to see in Verona Italy
The town in itself shows off an open air museum, so first of all take your time, relax and have a wander round the lively pedestrian historical centre.
The town gracefully blends many relevant remains of different eras: from the majestic roman arena, symbol of the city, hosting every year the celebre opera’s season , to the elegant medieval palaces and churches.
The historical centre is characterized by a medieval look yet its urban structure is deeply roman.
Beside the urban structure and the Arena, roman are also some of the city gates as Porta Leoni and Porta Borsari. As well as the celebre theatre on the left bank of the Adige river.
Even the current Piazza delle Erbe (Herbs square) finds its origin in the roman times, when it used to be the core of the town.
One classic starting point is Piazza Brà or Brà Square, overlooked by the impressive Arena, and surrounded by fine old palaces as the Accademia Filarmonica, made up of a theatre, a museum and a 1500s’ library, in which are being preserved precious ancient instruments and sheet music.
From Piazza Brà, continue towards the center of the town with its medieval center, that also features more recent palaces, dating back to Renaissance, and 17th century.
The other historical districts, Veronetta and San Zeno, are also characterized by middle ages buildings, plus some roman remains like the roman theater.
See the most relevant Verona attractions: 14 must-see things .
Brief History of Verona Italy
Verona is a very ancient town whose origins date back to the 1st millennium BC. It was founded by the ancient Venetos, to whom followed Celts arount 4th century BC.
Later, around the 3rd century BC those people were finally colonized by Romans.
Since then the town grew more and more important, also for its strategic position, on the crossing of three vital communication routes:
- one linking north-east to nort-west of Italy
- the one linking Rome to Germany
- the one linking Rome to France
During the roman era the city flourished and many monuments were built. Nowadays we can admire many of them, starting from the majestic roman theatre, aka Arena, a smaller version of the Coliseum in Rome, and yet the third biggest of Italy.
Thanks to the fact that in Verona there are still many roman remains, and for the structure of the town, this Veneto town is sometimes depicted as a little Rome.
After the roman rule, Verona kept flourishing under the Lombards, then Carolingians and Swabians.
It became a Free Commune at the begin of the 12th century, then fell under the dominion of the Podestà Ezzelino da Romano and later on turned into into a Seignuory under the powerful family Della Scala, which ruled over Verona over 100 years.
In 1405 Verona passed under the dominion of the Republic of Venice, until the fall of the Veneto's lagoon town in 1797.
In 1866 it became part of the newborn Kingdom of Italy.
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