 Introduction
Arrival Plane
The main airport is Verona Villafranca airport (also known as Valerio Catullo, blue APTV buses run every 20 minutes from the train station. The journey takes around 15 minutes and costs 4.20euro each way. During important trade fairs this service extends to the Fiera. Taxis cost around 20euro to the centre of the city.
Tiny Brescia Montichiari airport (also known as Gabriele D’Annunzio) used by Ryanair (and called by them, “Verona Brescia”), is about an hour away from Verona by bus. Ryanair run a service between the airport and Verona train station which coordinates with their flights and costs 9euro single, 16euro return. Tickets are available from an office inside the arrivals/departures hall (or, on the return journey from Verona, on the bus). There is a similar service to Brescia.
Train
Verona has direct train links with Milan (2 and a half hours), Venice ( one hour and a half). There is a direct overnight train from Paris Bercy to Verona which takes around 9 hours & Austria via the Brenner Pass.
Car
Verona is just to the northeast of the major junction of the A4 Milan-Venice motorway (European route E70) and the north-south A22 (European route E45 north through the Alps to the Brenner Pass and Innsbruck). Coming from the north take the exit ”Verona Nord“ and then the 'tangenziale' in the direction “centro”. On the A22, take the exit for “Verona Centro Storico”.
Bus
Eurolines operate three services a week from London Victoria to Verona, changing at Milan and taking around 24 hours. Cheap advance fares are not available over Christmas or during July and August. Long distance buses arrive and depart in Verona at the bus station, opposite the train station.
History and Culture
Verona was occupied by Napoleon in 1797, but on Easter Monday the populace rose and drove out the French. It was then that Napoleon made an end of the Venetian Republic.Verona became Austrian territory when Napoleon signed the Treaty of Campo Formio on October 12, 1797. The Austrians took control of the city on January 18, 1798. It was taken from Austria by the Treaty of Pressburg in 1805 and became part of Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy, but was returned to Austria following Napoleon's defeat in 1814, when it became part of the Austrian-held Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. During the Austrian period (1814-66) Verona became a fortress town, forming with Peschiera, Mantova and Legnago the famous defensive “quadrilaterial”. In 1866, following the Six Weeks War, Verona, along with the rest of Venetia, became part of Italy.
Churches and Museums
St Maria Antica is a tiny Romanesque church was the parish church of the Scaligeri clan. Founded in the 7th century, the interior is very beautiful. The structure is of alternating bands of brick and stone. The square belfry has Gothic mullioned windows, and inset glass crosses in the roof admit light. Only large enough to hold a couple dozen people at most for mass, when the Scaligeri chose this to be their funerary chapel, the only place for their massive tombs was outside. Hovering in mid-air above the entrance to the church is the Tomb of Cangrand I (d. 1329).
San Bernardino
The former Franciscan church of San Bernardino (15th century), has a large arcaded courtyard (gravestones, remains of frescoes). The Cappella Pellegrini (begun by Sammichele before 1554) has fine Renaissance decoration.
San Zeno Maggiore
To the north of San Bernardino is the large Basilica of San Zeno Maggiore (11th-12th century), perhaps the finest Romanesque building in northern Italy, with a beautiful main front flanked by a slender Romanesque campanile (1045-1178) and the battlemented defensive tower (14th century) of a former Benedictine abbey. The bronze doors have Romanesque reliefs with Biblical and other scenes. The interior boasts an unusual timber roof (14th century) and beautiful Romanesque capitals, and in the aisles are frescoes of the 13th-15th centuries. In the choir can be seen a marble figure, ascribed to the 14th century, of St Zeno, bishop of Verona (d. 380), whose reliquary is in the crypt. On the high altar is a "Madonna with Saints" by Mantegna (1456-59) and on the north side of the church an elegant Romanesque cloister.
San Lorenzo
a masterpiece of Verona's Romanesque style, stands on the site of a former Early Christian church, decorative fragments of which can still be seen in the entrance courtyard. Its construction dates back to about 1117, but it was partly rebuilt in succeeding eras. Immediately noticeable from the outside are the typical alternating bands of stone and brick and the original architectural motif, of Norman derivation, of the two cylindrical towers which lead to the women's galleries. Inside the church, one is struck at once by the rigorous structural emphasis of its design. The solemnity of the Romanesque style, seen in the rhythmic order of cruciform pillars alternat- ed with double arches and supporting the women's galleries, is subtly and skilfully moderated by the play of colour in the dark and light bands along the walls, creating a some what mystical atmosphere.
St Anastasia
St Anastasia is a huge and lofty church built from 1290-1481 by the Dominicans to hold the massive congregations attracted by their rousing fundamentalist sermons. The Gothic portal has faded 15th century frescoes and carved scenes from the life of St Peter Martyr, but the facade is unfinished. Inside is one of the most outstanding examples of Gothic architecture in northern Italy. However, its proportions and various elements of the design are still decidedly Romanesque. Of note are the 2 holy water stoups inside are upheld by comical and realistic beggars. The Pellegrini chapel houses the famous fresco St. George and the Princess of Trebizond by Pisanello.
Museo Archeologico
Near the theater in the former Convento di San Girolamo, the Archeological Museum (Museo Archeologico) contains prehistoric and Roman material.
St Anastasia
Historical buildings and monuments
The Arena, one of the best preserved Roman amphitheaters in all of Italy, originally built in the 1st Century AD by the Romans, and is still in use as a setting for outdoor opera and other cultural events. After the Coliseum in Rome and the arena in Capua, the Arena is the third largest Roman amphitheatre in the country. Of the outer wall only four arches on the north side have survived. With its 44 rows of seating it can accommodate some 22,000 spectators; from the top rows there are fine views. The overall length of the structure was 152m, its height 32m. In July and August a famous opera festival is held in the Arena.
Roman Theatre
The Arena not has to be confiused with the Roman Theatre, which stood in front of Ponte Postumio, spreading its ample arch of stepped seating on the side of the hill behind, is still used today for summer theatrical events.
Arco dei Gavi
Dedicated to the important Roman family of the Gavii, was built in the 1st century AD, and is famous for having the name of the builder (architect Lucius Vitruvius Cordone) engraved on it, a really rare case in the architecture of the epoque. It originally it straddled the main Roman road into the city, now the Corso Cavour. It had been demolished by the French troops in 1805 and was rebuilt in 1932.
Porta dei Borsari
Nearby is the Porta dei Borsari, an archway is at the end of Corso Porta Borsari. This is the facade of a 3rd century gate in the original Roman city walls. The inscription is dated 245 AD and gives the city name as Colonia Verona Augusta. The road passing through the gate is the original Via Sacra of the Roman city. Today, it is lined with several Renaissance palazzi.
Porta dei Leoni
Porta dei Leoni is the 1st century BC ruin of what was once part of the Roman city gate. A substantial portion is still standing as part of the wall of a medieval building. The street itself is an open archaeological site, and the remains of the original Roman street and gateway foundations can be seen a few feet below the present street level.
Casa di Giuletta
On On Via Cappello stands the Casa di Giuletta, a 13th century building said to be Juliet's residence, with the famous balcony. Once owned by the Dal Cappello, or Capulet, family. A small marble balcony records the most famous verses of Shakespeare's tragedy, in which Romeo declares his love for Juliet as she stands on the balcony.
Castelvecchio
At the end of the Corso Cavour, on the banks of the Adige, stands the Castelvecchio, built by the Scaligers in 1354-55; from the platform of the main tower (completed 1375) there are extensive views. The castle now houses the Civico Museo d'Arte, which contains Veronese sculpture, applied art and an excellent picture gallery with works of the 15th-16th century Veronese school.
Places of Interest
The central feature of the old town of Verona is the elongated Piazza delle Erbe, one of the most picturesque squares in Italy, on the site of the Roman forum (now a fruit and vegetable market). In the center of the square is the Berlina (16th century), a canopy borne on four columns, formerly used for the election of the Signori and the Podesta. To the north of it is the Market Fountain (1368), with the “Madonna Verona”, an ancient marble statue (restored). At the north end of the square the Marble Column bears the lion of St Mark, the emblem of Venetian authority. At the northeast corner stands the Casa Mazzanti, originally built by the Scaligers; like many houses in the town, it is adorned with Renaissance frescoes. On the north side of the square is the Baroque Palazzzo Maffei (1668), and to the left of this the Torre del Gardello (1370). The Casa dei Mercanti at the corner of Via Pellicciai was rebuilt in 1878 in its original form (1301). Opposite rises the 84m high Torre del Lamberti, with a medieval bell, “El Rengo”, used as a storm warning (lift to the top; fine view).
Surroundings
In the countryside around Verona are a number of beautiful villas, especially in the north and west towards Lake Garda. These include the Villa Sarego Boccoli near Pedemonte, designed by Palladio and modeled on houses from the ancient world; it was never completed.
Events
This province-wide Carnival begins on the first of June and continues throughout the province until September 17. The carnival brigns its parade to more than 60 towns in the province and the festivites comence in Torri del Benaco at an evening celebration.
85th Opera Festival of the Fondazione Arena di Verona - TBA
The year 2007 marks the 85th anniversary of the Opera Festival of the Fondazione Arena di Verona. The venue, the Arena, is more than 2,000 years old and boasts the largest stage in the world. More than half a million visitors arrive in Verona each year to take in the grand spectacle of artists, singers and musicians.
The Arena Address: Piazza Bra Verona
Cimbri Festival - Jul 1
This festival, which takes place every year on the first Sunday in July, pays tribute to the customs and history of the Cimbri people, an ancient Germanic people whose ancestory now settles in certain parts of Lessinia. Features of the festival include a parade, traditional cuisine, and, abive all, tromboni shootings (interesting tribal weapons).
Address: Frazione Camposilvano 1
Vicenza Jazz Festival - Spring
Vicenza hosts one of the major European jazz festivals each year in spring, an event which attract artists and musicians from all over the world. “New Converstations - Vicenza Jazz” is both a jazz festival as well as an exchange of musical ideas, from the latin sound to the mediterranean and even classical influences. Local musicians meet international artists in pubs and theaters throughout the town during the week long festival, with the Teatro Olimpico hosting the most important events.
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Verona Travel Guide
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