We left Varenna and Lake Como after two nights and boarded the bus to our next destination - the Dolomites. We loved the days when we rode the bus because the bus was so big and comfy. We would all spread out and often doze off before our next action-packed stop. On this travel day, we stopped in Verona to tour this town with local tour guide, Valeria.
We entered Verona by crossing the River Adige which made the old town an easy-to-defend location.
The city wall is visible around the old town and very impressive
Verona dates back to Roman times and has an ancient arena off it's main piazza as a reminder, the Roman Arena.
The Romans built this stadium in the first century A.D. of pink marble and most of it is still original. It held up to 25,000 spectators to see Roman gladiator battles, medieval executions, rock concerts, and modern plays because of it's great acoustics.
This stadium is the third largest in Italy and is still used today as a concert venue.
The central fountain is located in this piazza called "The Alps".
It was a gift from Verona's sister city Munich, which is just over the mountains to the north. The middle of the fountain are the symbols of the two cities separated by the Alps, carved out of pink marble from this region. In general, Verona has a bit of an alpine feel to it; historically, it was the place where people rested and prepared before crossing the mountains.
The main entrance to Roman Verona was a big gate that functioned as a tollbooth called Porta Borsari. (borsari means purse, referring to the collection of tolls here)
A statue of Dante is in Piazza dei Signori, or "Lords' Square" that is a quieter part of town.
Dante was an Italian poet who is known for being always pensive, never smiling. He was expelled from Florence when that city sided with the pope (who didn't appreciate Dante's writing) and banished him from the city. Verona and its ruling family, the Scaligeri family, were at odds with the pope (siding instead with the Holy Roman Emperor) and granted Dante asylum in Verona. The buildings around this piazza - which are five centuries old - are all linked by arches and just make for a nice, serene part of town.
Our tour ended with the tombs of the Scaligeri family. The tombs are very exotic and Gothic 14th-century with wrought-iron protective cages.
Believe it or not, but our tour did not even include Juliet's balcony...
I went there myself during our free time because I know that many people think of Verona as the place where Juliet's house is located. It's strictly a marketing ploy started in the 1970's by a clever tour guide and has nothing to do with the two star-crossed lovers but, hey...I had to see it. It's actually a very lovely courtyard with a statue of Juliet where tourists rub Juliet's bronze breast to help find love.
And then it was time for lunch and you guessed it...pizza!
Trust me, my diet does get more interesting.
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