VERONA, WHAT TO SEE
FROM MESTRE TO VERONA
The best way to get to the city of Verona is by train, from the Venezia Mestre Fs station it will take about 55 minutes.
It is also possible to reach it by bus, you can take it from the Venezia Mestre Fs station and it will take about 1h and 20 minutes.
You can also reach the city by taxi and car, it will take about 1h and 10 minutes.
ARENA DI VERONA
The most famous monument in the city is probably also the first one you will come across,the Verona Arena.
Among the major Roman recreational architectures, the Arena is the best-preservedancient amphitheatre in the world, as well as the most famous monument in Verona, anundisputed symbol of the city.
The building, built by the Romans around themiddle of the 1st century AD, once hosted various types of entertainment, from gladiator fights tohunts for wild and exotic animals.
Its elliptical shape was designed toaccommodate a large number of spectators(about 30,000) and to give the games sufficient space.
THE SCALIGERO BRIDGE
The Scaligero Bridge (also known as the Castelvecchio Bridge) is a superb example of 14thcentury military engineering that spans the Adige River from the Torre del Mastio, located at the center of the Castelvecchio complex.
It is a magnificent three-arched, fortified and crened bridge that perfectly integrates and completes the defensive system of the large medieval manor. It was built around 1355 by Prince Cangrande II della Scala, who was lord of Verona at the time. Originally, the bridge was only accessible from the internal courtyard of the castle and, as the castle continued to be used for military purposes during the years of Austrian domination, pedestrian traffic was only permitted after 1870, when a new arch was opened near the Clock Tower.
PORTA BORSARI
Porta Borsari was, in the imperial era, the main entrance to the city, which led into Verona via Postumia, the road built by the consul Spurio Postumio, which at that time connected the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Adriatic Sea.
The construction of the gate dates back to the 1st century AD and, at the time, it was called Porta Iovia, as nearby there was a temple dedicated to Jupiter Lustrale (the remains of which we can today admire in the gardens adjacent to the Monumental Cemetery).
In the Middle Ages it took the name of Porta San Zeno and, subsequently, took its current name of Porta Borsari, in reference to the Bursarii, the soldiers on guard with the purse who collected the episcopal duties.
PIAZZA DELLE ERBE
One of the most beloved open-air living rooms in the world, whose walls are made up of ancient buildings dating back to the different eras that have characterized the history of the city.
Piazza Erbe is the oldest square in the city and stands on the area of the Roman forum. At that time it was the nerve center of Verona’s social, economic and political life.
The north side of the square is characterized, nowadays, by the liveliness of the crowd that animates its bars and restaurants, making it a pleasant and refined showcase overlooking the heart of the city of Verona.
It is occupied by the ancient Palazzo del Comune, the suggestive Torre dei Lamberti, the Casa dei Giudici and the houses of the Mazzanti, a fascinating agglomeration of buildings from various eras of which one cannot help but admire the splendid frescoes well preserved, testimony to the sixteenth-century nickname of Verona “urbs picta”, due to the habit, precisely, of embellishing
houses and buildings with wonderful frescoes.
JULIET’S HOUSE
Juliet’s House Museum, one of the most famous places in the city of Verona and an absolute pointof reference for lovers from all over the world, islocated in a medieval palace in Verona.
Legend and popular belief identify it as the birthplace of Juliet Capulet, protagonist, togetherwith her beloved Romeo Montecchi, of the famousShakespearean tragedy.
PIAZZA DEI SIGNORI
Originating from the development of the palaces where political and administrative life was decided, especially during the Scaliger period, the square is surrounded by monumental buildings connected by porticoes and arches, almost creating a sort of internal courtyard.
In the centre of the square is the monument to Dante (1865), a 3-metre statue in white Carrara marble, erected on the occasion of the celebrations for the sixth centenary of the birth of the poet, who found his first refuge at the court of Cangrande after his exile from Florence.
Entering the square, passing under the Arco della Costa on the left, you can admire the façade of the Domus Nova. Continuing along the perimeter of the square, clockwise, we admire the Renaissance Loggia del Consiglio, and then the Palazzo degli scaligeri, who were Lords of Verona from 1260 to 1387.
The palace is now the seat of the Prefecture and the Province.
From the square you can see Santa Maria Antica, the private chapel of the palace.
VERONA CATHEDRAL
The Verona Cathedral, or Cathedral of Santa Maria Matricolare, located in a small and sober square in the medieval area of Verona, inside the bend of the Adige near Ponte Pietra, is the most beautiful and precious church in the city, its main place of Catholic worship as well as the episcopal seat of the diocese of the same name.
It stands on the site where the first Christian church in the city was built in the 4th century, probably by order of Bishop Zeno, and was consecrated in 1187 by Pope Urban III, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta.
WHERE YOU CAN EAT
Trattoria “Il Vicoletto” / Via St. Maria in Chiavica, 5
Ristorante Pizzeria “Mitiko!” /Via Monte Bianco, 16/A
Ristorante “L’evangelista” / Via Dietro Listone, 19/D
Ristorante “Darì” / Vicolo Cieco S. Pietro Incarnario, 5
“La Vecia Mescola dell’Oste” / Vicolo Chiodo, 4
Pizzeria “Da Vincenzo” / Piazza Nogara, 3
“Flower Burger” / Corso Porta Nuova, 87
“La Bottega della Gina XXL” / Via A. Massalongo, 5/a
“Buon Gusto Castelvecchio” / Stradone Porta Palio, 1/B
Ristorante “Mare Nostro” / Via Giambattista Moschini, 26