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| LAKE GARDA: | VERONA'S MAIN SITES |  |
| VENETO.ORG LINKS | ||
Where
is Verona? View geographic location  |
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"In the beautiful city of Verona" - as sung Jacopo Alighieri in one of his sonnets - we can find ample and significant evidence documenting every period in the long and intense history of this city, important signs and traces which will surprise the visitor because of their exhaustive coverage of the past. The Arena is the prime example: our thoughts go immediately to the storied opera seasons, though we may forget that the showplace for those famous performances is nineteen hundred years old and is one of the most majestic monuments bequeathed by Ancient Rome. The celebrated amphitheatre is part of a Roman "itinerary" which - with the inclusion of several ruins (the Theatre at the foot of the Colle di San Pietro, two gates, an arch, a bridge) - traces a road network whose foundation has remained intact. With the passage of time, Verona has preserved for us wonders of Roman and Gothic design. Extraordinary examples can be found in the Basilica of San Zeno (with its marvelous main entrance) and in the monumental complex of the Scaligere Arches, the burial place of the Lords who offered the city a period of great civic and artistic activity. The graceful Loggia del Consiglio ascribed to Fra Giocondo and the magnificent buildings and doors designed by Verona's own Michele Sanmicheli are but a few examples of a Renaissance which was particularly creative in the city. One's knowledge of Verona can be widened considerably by visiting the important collections in the Civic Museum of Art at Castelvecchio, the major architectural achievement of the medieval Verona, or those in the Archeological Museum at the Convent of San Girolamo. What one can appreciate most by viewing these collections is the richness typical of the history, culture and art available in this important center of northern Italy. This heritage of paramount significance appears by and large in an area which - in the city and its surroundings - is complemented dramatically by the scenic wonders of a river (the Adige), mountain slopes (the Lessini), and the shores of a lake (the Garda). Within this uniquely picturesque setting, one can be moved by the discovery of a myriad of small towns utterly original in their make-up as well as in their wealth of historical and artistic expression. Localities such as Soave, Negrar, Lazise, Valeggio sul Mincio, and Malcesine (to mention only several of the many possible examples) - each with its own villas, castle, or walls within a framework of rare beauty - offer precise contributions to the history of Venetian and Italian art.