Verona: Introduction

Apparently all of northern Italy's "V" cities are first on my list of places to visit. I started with Venice, Varenna, and Vezia, and am continuing the trend with Verona. I feel as though Verona is often overlooked when people come to Italy. Verona seems to be the "If we have time after we see Florence, Rome, and Venice," destination, like a supporting player for Italy rather than a star. I can't understand why, because in my humble opinion, Verona takes the best of the Big Three and mashes it up into one, easily accessible city. It has the quaint Italian charm of Venice, a smattering of ancient Roman ruins, some Renaissance art to tide you over until you do make it to Florence, and as an added bonus, a good dose of medieval art and architecture. Plus, despite having its fair share of tourist ridden areas, it has a distinct people-actually-live-here vibe to it, making the whole experience feel more authentic. As if all of that isn't enough to lure you in, the city is extremely walkable and all of the main attractions can be seen in one day by foot.

Verona sits east of Milan in northern Italy alongside the Adige River. History wise, the city dates back to around 550 BC. It fell under Roman rule in 300 BC, but due to its strategic position as the intersection of several important ancient roads, who was in charge of Verona changed often. Often as in, all the time. Various Gothic tribes, the Byzantines, and the Lombards ruled the city through the middle ages, and the Italian Scaligeri family took over during the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. It was home to Emperor Maxmillian I in the 16th and 17th centuries - oh, and several deadly plague outbreaks. It then became a part of Napoleonic France, then Austria, then France again during Napoleon's conquest of Italy in the 19th century. WWI, WWII and the fascist regime affected Verona as much as it did the rest of Italy; Jews were banned to ghettos and herded off to concentration camps under Mussolini's rule. His son in law, Galeazzo Ciano, was accused of plotting against the republic and was executed on the banks of the Adige River.

Today, churches, monuments, and an abundance of art are all that remain of Verona's tumultuous past, and the city has become a dynamic cultural center. With all that history, there's alot to see, so a trip to Verona really requires some planning. After a bit of research, I ended up organizing my visit based on Rick Steves' 2013 Guide to Italy book, and the end result was near perfection. If you plan on visiting anywhere in Europe, I highly recommend purchasing a Rick Steves guide. If you don't plan on coming to Europe any time soon, I highly recommend you stay far, far away from his books, because just paging through one is enough to make you want to visit. Rick, are you reading? Hi, I'm Emily, and I want to be your protege.

Anyways. Getting to Verona from Milan is easy. You guessed it - take the train. The Verona Porta Nuova station is on the same route that I took to Venice and a ticket is almost twenty Euros cheaper. Once at the station, you can walk about fifteen minutes to the city center, or take a bus for two Euros (or zero, if you just inconspicuously hop in near the back like I did). Once in the city center, I managed to hit all of the major sites in Verona, and occasionally wandered off the beaten path to do some random exploration - all within about six hours. Overall, I was really impressed with everything I saw, although there were a few disappointments. I'll go into details in separate posts later, but here's a quick recap:

1. Piazza Bra and the Roman Arena
2. Piazza Erbe
3. Piazza dei Signori and Torre dei Lamberti
4. Casa di Guilietta
5. Chiesa di Santa Anastasia
6. Verona Duomo
7. Ponte Pietra
8. Castelvecchio
9. Gelato
10. Gelato
11. Again, gelato

All in all, I completely fell in love with Verona today. I suppose that's fitting, given that it's the setting for Shakespeare's ultimate romance, Romeo and Juliet. I returned to Milan with a bit of resentment for the city I'm currently calling home. It certainly has it's own sort of charm, but after spending the day in a history-rich city like Verona, Milan has been feeling more business/industrial/modern than usual. Fortunately, I have a laundry list of museums to tackle (which I've been saving for colder weather), so I'm sure I can get a good dose of history and culture during the week between visiting other cities.