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Romeo and Juliet’s City: Hidden Gems of Verona

Romeo and Juliet’s City: Hidden Gems of Verona

Romeo and Juliet’s City: Hidden Gems of Verona

Verona is a city of 258,031 people located on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy. He is one of his seven provincial capitals in the region and is the largest municipality in the region and second-largest municipality in northeastern Italy.

The Verona metropolitan area has an area of ​​1,426 km2 and a population of 714,310. It is one of the most important tourist destinations in northern Italy because of its artistic heritage, several fairs and shows a year, and even the opera season at the Arena, an ancient Roman amphitheater.

The city was governed by the della Scala family in the 13th and 14th centuries. Under the rule of the family, especially the Cangrande 1 della Scala family, the city experienced great prosperity, becoming rich and powerful and surrounded by new walls. The Scala era is preserved in numerous monuments around Verona. Two of his plays by William Shakespeare are set in Verona.

Two gentlemen, Romeo, Juliet, and Verona. It is not known whether Shakespeare ever visited Verona or Italy, but his plays draw many tourists to Verona and the surrounding towns. Verona is also the birthplace of Isotta Nogarola, the first great humanist and considered one of the most important humanists of the Renaissance.

In November 2000, Due to its urban structure and architecture, the city has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The city will host the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

History of Verona in Italy

Both the name’s etymology and the specifics of Verona’s early history are still a mystery. One theory is that it was the European cities that were forcibly ceded to the Senomani. With the conquest of the Po Valley, the territory of Veronese became Roman territory. Verona was founded in 89 BC. Roman colony.

History of Verona in Italy

It was 49 BC. It was classified as a municipality when its inhabitants were attributed to the Roman tribe of Povrilia or Publicis. The city gained importance because it was located at the intersection of several streets. Stilicho defeated Alaric and his Visigoths here in 402 AD. However, with the conquest of Verona by the Ostrogoths in 489, Gothic rule over Italy began. Theodoric the Great is said to have built his palace here.

It remained under Gothic control throughout the Gothic Wars, except for one day in 541 when the Byzantine officer Artabazes invaded. The exile of Byzantine generals in search of booty allowed the Goths to retake the city. In 552 Valerian attempted to invade the city in vain, but only after the Goths were completely overthrown did it surrender.

In 569

Conquered by the Lombard king Alboin in 569, it was in some ways the second most important city in his kingdom. There Alboin was murdered by his wife in 572. The Duke of Treviso often lived here. Desiderius’ son, Adargis, made a last desperate stand in Verona in 774 against Charlemagne, who destroyed the Lombard kingdom. Verona became the permanent residence of the King of Italy, and the city’s government was inherited by the Counts of Miro, ancestors of the Counts of San Bonifacio. Two Berengarians lived there from 880 to 951.

Under Roman and Austrian rule, Verona was also known in German as Bern, Welsch Bern, and Dietrichsbern. Otto, I left Verona to become a Margrave dependent on the Duchy of Bavaria, but Verona was established as a free municipality in 1135 as the growing wealth of the bourgeois family overshadowed the count’s power.

 In 1164 Verona, together with Vicenza, Padua, and Treviso, founded the Veronese League, which in 1167 joined the Lombard League to fight Frederick I Barbarossa. The Battle of Legnano, which took place in 1176, ended in victory, the Treaty of Venice was signed in 1177, and the Peace of Constance was signed in 1183.

Geography in Verona

Geography in Verona

Climate

Verona belongs to a humid subtropical climate typical of the interior plains of northern Italy, characterized by hot summers and cool, wet winters, partly influenced by Lake Garda. The relative humidity is high throughout the year, but it is particularly high in the winter when fog mostly occurs from dusk to early morning, although this phenomenon has become increasingly rare in recent years.

Demographics in Verona

In 2009, 265,368 people lived in Verona, Province of Verona, Veneto, of which 47.6% were men and 52.4% were women. Overall, minors accounted for 16.05% of the population and retirees accounted for 22.36%. By comparison, the Italian average is 18.06% for him and 19.94% for him. The average age of Verona residents is 43, compared to 42 in Italy.

In his five-year period from 2002 to 2007, Verona’s population increased by 3.05%, while in Italy as a whole it increased by 3.85%. Verona’s current fertility rate is 9.24 per 1,000 inhabitants, while the average number of births in Italy is 9.45.

87 percent of the population was Italian in 2009. Other European nations are where the majority of immigrants are from. 3.60 percent, 2.03 percent in South Asia, and 1.50 percent in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the city’s majority Roman Catholic population, it now also includes Orthodox and Muslim adherents as a result of immigration.

Demographics in Verona

Main sights in Verona

Verona has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to the value and significance of numerous historic structures. Verona preserved many ancient Roman monuments in the early Middle Ages, but many of the early medieval buildings were destroyed or severely damaged by the earthquake of 3 January 1117, leaving large Romanesque monuments. led to reconstruction. The Carolingian Verona v. Verona contains an important account of Verona in the early Middle Ages

Roman edifices

The Roman military settlement in the center of today’s city was to extend to the intersection of the Cardines and Decumani rivers at right angles. This structure has survived to this day and is visible from the air. Evolution did not change the original map.

Almost invisible, the Roman city with its basalt-paved streets stands nearly intact at a depth of about 20 feet below the surface. Most palaces and houses have cellars built over Roman structures, rarely accessible to visitors. Piazza delle Erbe, near the Roman Forum, was rebuilt using materials from Roman baths and villas by Cangrande I and Cansignorio della Scala I, lords of Verona.

Verona is famous for the Arena, a Roman amphitheater located in Piazza Bra, the city’s largest square. Completed around 30 AD, this church is the third largest in Italy after the Colosseum in Rome and the Arena of Capua.

At 139 meters long and 110 meters wide, it has space for approximately 25,000 spectators in 44 rows of marble seating. Rudi (shows and gladiatorial matches) held within the city walls were very famous and attracted spectators from outside the city.

Main sights in Verona

Medieval architecture

  1. The Basilica di San Zeno Maggiore is a Romanesque church, the third of its kind on the site. Built from 1123 to 1135 on his 4th-century basilica of Saint Zeno, patron saint of Verona. The façade dominates the main square flanked by the 72-meter-high bell towers mentioned by Dante in Canto 18 of the Divine Comedy Purgatory.
  2. San Lorenzo Cathedral is another small Romanesque church. Dating from around 1177, It was erected where an early Christian church once stood, of which fragments remain. Built of alternating brick and stone, the church has two cylindrical towers with spiral staircases leading to the women’s gallery. The interior is plain but has a calm atmosphere. Stone and brick stripes and graceful arches complete the ambiance.
  3. The Scaliger family’s famous Gothic tomb is located in Santa Maria Antica, a diminutive Romanesque church that served as their personal chapel. The Duomo is also a famous Romanesque church.
  4. Sant’Anastasia is a huge, tall church built by the Dominicans between 1290 and 1481 to house the large number of congregants who were fascinated by their preaching. The Pellegrini Chapel contains the fresco, Saint Pellegrini’. “George and the Princess of Trebizond” by Pisanello and the grave of Wilhelm von Bibra.
Roman edifices

Sports in the Verona

There are currently two professional soccer teams in the city. Historically, Hellas Verona was the biggest team in the city. They won the Italian Serie A in 1984/85 and qualified for the European Cup the following year. Chievo Verona was founded in 1929 and represents Chievo, a suburb of Verona. However, it will cease to exist in 2021 due to unpaid taxes.

Hellas will begin competing in the first division of Italian football in the 2021–22 season, Serie A, while another club in the city, Virtus Verona, plays in Serie C. The teams of Hellas and Chievo competed in the Scala Derby, sharing his 38,402-seat Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi, which was the venue for the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

Verona is home to the Marmi Lanza Verona volleyball team, the Franklin and Marshall Cas Verona rugby team, and the Scaligera basketball team.

Sports in the Verona

Infrastructure and transport in Verona city

Public transit

Local public transport has been operated by the regional transport company Azienda Trasporti Verona since 2007. The Verona tram system provided service to the city from 1884 to 1951. Trams were replaced by trolleybuses, and then buses took their place in 1975. ATV is examining the feasibility of a new trolleybus network, which is scheduled to debut in 2022.

The Verona Funicular, an inclined elevator, opened in 2017, allowing access from the Pietra Bridge to the Roman Theater Museum and San Pietro’s Castle.

Railways

a crucial junction where the east-west line between Milan and Venice meets, and the north-south rail line from the Brenner Pass to Rome is in Verona, and light rail can reach most of Europe. In addition to regional and local trains, there are also direct international trains to Zurich, Innsbruck, and Munich. ÖBB Nightjet offers a night sleep service on the La Spezia line via Verona to Vienna and Munich.

Verona’s main train station is Verona Porta Nuova Station, south of the city center. In Italy, he is considered the ninth busiest station, with around 68,000 passengers a day and 25 million passengers a year. To the east of the town is a small railway station called Porta Vescovo, which was once Verona’s main railway station, but now only serves trains between Venice and Porta Nuova.

Infrastructure and transport in Verona city

Airport

The distance from Verona to the airport is 10 km. It carries about 3 million passengers a year. Regular buses run to Porta Nuova Train Station.

Verona can be reached directly by plane from a number of cities, including Rome Fiumicino, Berlin, Moscow, Naples, Liverpool, Frankfurt, Munich, Catania, Palermo, London Gatwick, Dublin, Cork, Manchester, Cagliari, etc.

In popular culture in Verona city

Romeo and Juliet and Two Gentlemen of Verona are two plays by William Shakespeare that are set in this city. There is no evidence that Shakespeare was in this town.

In popular culture in Verona city

Top 6 Things to Do in Verona (Italy)

Arena di Verona

Forget the Colosseum in Rome. Verona has its version that is equally spectacular and perhaps better preserved. Located in the historic city center, the arena is a giant colosseum with original seats and outer arches.

Various shows and games were held here, including Rudi of Rome, and in its heyday, the amphitheate r drew 30,000 spectators.

Castle Vecchio

The Adige River’s banks are where this location is, Castle Vecchio is a monument of great importance, having been there since it was first built in 1354. The castle served as the city’s main defense and was the greatest engineering achievement of the Scaliger dynasty.

The castle’s main gate is very impressive, with a series of crenelated battlements and his two watchtowers. In addition, it has the wonderful bridge of Castel Vecchio, which connects it to the main complex and offers wonderful views over the river.

Basilica of San Zeno Maggiore

The Basilica of San Zeno is one of Verona’s most important religious buildings. Mainly because of its stunning architecture, but also because it was the fictional location of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet’s Marriage.

Basilica of San Zeno Maggiore

Ponte di Castle Vecchio

At the time of its construction, it was the tallest bridge of its kind in the world.

The bridge leading to Castello Vecchio is decorated in the same style as the ramparts, with fine crenelated battlements and a view of the Adige River.

Piazza Delle Erbe

Verona has many charming squares, Piazza delle Erbe is one of the best examples.

Centrally located in the historic center of the city, this diamond-shaped square serves as one of the main points of activity. During the Roman Empire, this square served as the main settlement site.

The square is flanked by various important buildings such as Torre Lamberti, the Maffeia Palace, and Casadei his Giudici.

Piazza Delle Erbe

Piazza Bra

Verona’s largest square, Piazza Bra, is one of the city’s main tourist areas and is home to many historic buildings, public facilities, and restaurants.

The main attraction of this square is undoubtedly the enormous Arena di Verona and the square surrounding this monument offers great photo opportunities.

In addition, there are also the Gran Guardia and the Palazzo He Veriberi, two of which are magnificent buildings in their own right.

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