My Adventures 3: Juliets Balcony

On Sunday the 22nd September 2024 we left Camping Bella Italia site and walked along the lake to Peschiera town.

The Police were out on their jet skis to police the Italian Open Water Tour, in Peschiera.

The routes between the ramparts, a Unesco World Heritage Site, make these open-water swimming races unique in the world, suspended between centuries of history.

We walked to Peschiera Train Station and I had previously bought train tickets on the Trainpal app to Verona.

After a short train journey we arrive at Verona Porta Nouva Train Station. We exit and start walking along Viale Luciano dal Cero.

Porta Palio.

We pass Porta Palio. Porta Palio is a gate or portal of the former outer medieval walls of the city of Verona, Italy. It was designed and built during 1550–1561 by the architect Michele Sanmicheli.

The robust Doric columns give the structure elegance and convey strength. The site previously had a medieval portal, called the Palio gate because it was used during a race.

We walk along Corso Porta Nuova and we are approaching the I Portoni della Brà.

The Portoni della Bra is an entrance located along the municipal walls of Verona , built to connect the city to what was at the time the suburban countryside.

In a document from 1257, a Braida gate is mentioned for the first time, located in the area where the Bra gates currently stand; this was equipped with a postern on the side and opened along the municipal walls , outside of which the Adigetto flowed. The covered connection that started from Castelvecchio to connect to the fortified Citadel dates back to the time of the Visconti domination of Verona (1389-1402), which crossed the road that led out of the city at the arch.

The medieval gate was mentioned for the last time in 1483 by the Venetian traveller Marin Sanuto who also included in his volume a drawing of the Civitas Verone , in which the gate with a single arch is clearly visible. In a fresco by Nicolò Giolfino (1476-1555) the double arch of the gate is observed for the first time, it can therefore be deduced that the expansion took place between the end of the fifteenth century and the early years of the sixteenth century.

The history of the clock that is located in the center of the two arches of the Bra gates is quite eventful, so much so that the first proposal to insert a clock at that point dates back to 1584. A more concrete proposal to apply a clock to the gates dates back to May 1797, when the Patriotic Society of Verona proposed to reuse the one that had been dismantled from the Campo Marzo fair and that was lying unused, without however having any feedback in this sense. On 17 October 1812 a bell from the Scaliger era was removed from the Gardello tower , which was to be sold or demolished; some citizens opposed it and the Municipality then hypothesized to reuse it to strike the hours of the clock that would be installed on the gates, and so various projects were drawn up. The arrival of the Austrian government in the city, however, delayed the implementation of the works.

Only in 1871, after several other attempts, was it finally possible to install the clock in the centre of the gates, thanks to the action of Count Antonio Nogarola who donated a clock to the community, arranging that it be visible from both sides of the gate and that the Scaliger bell should strike the hours from the top of the Pentagona tower, which rises right along the right side of the structure. The clock was then inaugurated on 2 June 1872, but was already modified in 1879 by the clockmaker Montemezzi of Vigasio, thus becoming more precise, while the Scaliger bell was transferred to a civic museum and replaced by the current one in 1881.

After walking under the I Portoni della Brà, We reach Piazza Brà.

Piazza Bra, often shortened to Bra, is the largest piazza in Verona, Italy, with some claims that it is the largest in the country. The piazza is lined with numerous cafés and restaurants, along with several notable buildings. The Verona Arena, an amphitheatre built nearly 2000 years ago, is now a world-famous music venue with regular operatic and contemporary music performances. Verona's town hall, the Palazzo Barbieri, also looks out across the piazza.

Here in Piazza Bra stands the Statua di Vittorio Emanuele II.

The monument portrays Vittorio Emanuele in the act of suddenly reining in his horse to turn to encourage his soldiers before the bayonet attack in the battle of San Martino in June 1859, the last clash of the second Italian war of independence .

The equestrian statue is placed on a red granite base surrounded by a white marble staircase from which rises another pedestal in Carrara marble decorated with a relief depicting the entry of the Piedmontese troops into Milan after the battle of Magenta , during the second war of independence as well as allegorical palm branches. On the front of the pedestal is the date "June 1859" to mark the king 's entry into Milan (8 June 1859 ), while on the opposite side is the writing "14 June 1896" in reference to the date of the inauguration of the monument.

We stop for photos in Piazza Bra with the Amphitheatre beyond.

Just outside the Piazza is the Arena di Verona.

The Verona Arena is a Roman amphitheatre in Piazza Bra in Verona, Italy, built in 30 AD. It is still in use and serves as a venue for large-scale opera performances.

It is one of the best preserved ancient structures of its kind. In ancient times, the arena's capacity was nearly 30,000 people. The stage for concerts and opera performances decreases the available capacity to a maximum of 22,000.

Today Claudio Baglioni an Italian Singer, songwriter and musician was performing.

Arena di Verona and the Town Hall.

The building itself was built in AD 30 on a site which was then beyond the city walls. The ludi (shows and games) staged there were so famous that spectators came from many other places, often far away, to witness them. The amphitheatre could host more than 30,000 spectators in ancient times. The round facade of the building was originally composed of white and pink limestone from Valpolicella, but after a major earthquake in 1117, which almost completely destroyed the structure's outer ring, except for the so-called "ala" (wing), the stone was quarried for re-use in other buildings. Nevertheless, it impressed medieval visitors to the city, one of whom considered it to have been a labyrinth, without ingress or egress. Ciriaco d'Ancona was filled with admiration for the way it had been built and Giovanni Antonio Panteo's civic panegyric De laudibus veronae, 1483, remarked that it struck the viewer as a construction that was more than human.

Every year over 500,000 people see productions of the popular operas in this arena. Once capable of housing 20,000 patrons per performance (now limited to 15,000 because of safety reasons), the arena has featured many of world's most notable opera singers. In the post-World War II era, they have included Giuseppe Di Stefano, Maria Callas, Tito Gobbi and Renata Tebaldi among other names. A number of conductors have appeared there, too. The official arena shop has historical recordings made by some of them available for sale.

There was a long queue of people waiting to enter, we decided to give it a miss.

We walk around the square and the Arena.

Between the 13th and 14th centuries, Verona was ruled by the della Scala family. Under the rule of the family, in particular of Cangrande I della Scala, the city experienced great prosperity, becoming rich and powerful and being surrounded by new walls. The della Scala era is preserved in numerous monuments around Verona.

Two of William Shakespeare's plays are set in Verona: Romeo and Juliet (which also features Romeo's visit to Mantua) and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. It is unknown if Shakespeare ever visited Verona or Italy, but his plays have lured many visitors to Verona and surrounding cities. Verona was also the birthplace of Isotta Nogarola, who is said to be the first major female humanist and one of the most important humanists of the Renaissance. In November 2000, the city was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO because of its urban structure and architecture.

The precise details of Verona's early history remain a mystery along with the origin of its name. One theory is that it was a city of the Euganei, who were obliged to give it up to the Cenomani (550 BC). With the conquest of the Valley of the Po, the Veronese territory became Roman about 300 BC. Verona became a Roman colonia in 89 BC. It was classified as a municipium in 49 BC, when its citizens were ascribed to the Roman tribe Poblilia or Publicia.

The city became important because it was at the intersection of several roads. Stilicho, a military commander in the Roman army, defeated Alaric and his Visigoths here in 402. Later, Verona was conquered by the Ostrogoths in 489, and the Gothic domination of Italy began. Theoderic the Great was said to have built a palace there. It remained under the power of the Goths throughout the Gothic War (535–552), except for a single day in 541, when the Byzantine officer Artabazes made an entrance. The defections of the Byzantine generals over the booty made it possible for the Goths to regain possession of the city. In 552 the Romans under the general Valerian vainly endeavored to enter the city, but it was only when the Goths were fully overthrown that they surrendered it.

In 569, it was taken by Alboin, King of the Lombards, in whose kingdom it was, in a sense, the second most important city. There, Alboin was "killed by his own people with the connivance of his wife" in 572. The dukes of Treviso often resided there. Adalgisus, son of Desiderius, in 774 made his last resistance in Verona to Charlemagne, who had destroyed the Lombard kingdom. Verona became the ordinary residence of the kings of Italy, the government of the city becoming hereditary in the family of Count Milo, progenitor of the counts of San Bonifacio. From 880 to 951 the two Berengarii resided there.

Under Holy Roman and Austrian rule, Verona was alternatively known in German as Bern, Welsch-Bern or Dietrichsbern. Otto I ceded to Verona the marquisate dependent on the Duchy of Bavaria, however, the increasing wealth of the burgher families eclipsed the power of the counts, and in 1135 Verona was organised as a free commune. In 1164 Verona joined with Vicenza, Padua and Treviso to create the Veronese League, which was integrated with the Lombard League in 1167 to battle against Frederick I Barbarossa. Victory was achieved at the Battle of Legnano in 1176, and the Treaty of Venice signed in 1177 followed by the Peace of Constance in 1183.

We have walked around to Casa di Giulietta on Via Capello. Here is the home to the Romeo and Juliet Balcony. The crowds here are huge!

Juliet's house is a tower house from between late 13th and early 14th century. On a stone in the wall there is a bas-relief of a hat. Popular tradition considers it the coat of arms of the Cappelletti or Capuleti, Juliet's family. In the English version of the story it became "Capulets".

At the beginning of the 20th century Juliet's house was restored and opened to visitors.

In '700 Verona became part of the Grand Tour. European nobles and artists who came to the city wanted to visit the places of the legend of Romeo and Juliet. They took them to see a building with a stone's throw from the central Piazza Erbe. In the keystone of the entrance arch is carved a hat, perhaps the coat of arms of the family who lived there in the Middle Ages.

Popular tradition said that it was the Capuleti family, or Cappelletti (which in Italian means "small hats"), translated as "Capulets" in the English version.

Over the centuries the building had been altered and appeared as an anonymous and shabby 19th century building.

At the beginning of the 20th century Antonio Avena, architect and director of the Verona Museums , started the restoration, trying to bring back its medieval look.

Much of the original structure and interior was lost. Avena resorted to imagination and personal taste, adding decorative elements here and there. He didn't worry too much about historical accuracy, more interested in the overall look as the restoration.

The result was a great success.

Today it is one of the most visited monuments in Italy.

We walk on reaching Piazza Erbe and it's market.

The northern side of the square is occupied by the ancient town hall, the Torre dei Lamberti, the Casa dei Giudici ("Judges' Hall") and the frescoed Mazzanti Houses. The western side, the shortest one, features the Baroque Palazzo Maffei, decorated by statues of Greek gods. It is faced by a white marble column, on which is St. Mark's Lion, symbol of the Republic of Venice.

The north-western side occupies the site of the ancient Roman Capitol Hill, which looked towards the forum. Numerous of its buildings facing the square have maintained façade frescoes. On the southern side is the crenellated Casa dei Mercanti ("House of the Merchants", also known as Domus Mercatorum), now the seat of the Banca Popolare di Verona. Other buildings, the tall houses of the Ghetto, are reminiscent of medieval tower-houses.

The square's most ancient monument is the fountain (built in 1368 by Cansignorio della Scala), surmounted by a statue called Madonna Verona, which is however a Roman sculpture dating to 380 AD. Also historical is the capitello, dating to the 13th century, during which it was used for several ceremonies, including the oath of investment of the city's medieval podestà and pretors. Towards Via Cappello is another column, with a 14th-century aedicula with reliefs of the Virgin and the Saints Zeno, Peter and Christopher.

We stroll around the stalls, mainly consisting of Tourist items.

Madonna Verona

It was built by Cansignorio, the last of the great lords of the Della Scala family, in 1368, using a large Roman thermal pool in red Verona marble and surmounting it with a statue whose body was also a Roman original, perhaps even one of the acroterial statues that decorated the Capitol in the forum. The head and the arms, missing, were added at the moment of the realization of the fountain. Verona was therefore depicted as a beautiful queen (mea domina in fact, contracted in madonna, the appellative with which noblewomen were called in the Middle Ages) whose body, like the origins of the city, is of Roman times while the head and arms date back to the next moment of maximum splendor of the city, the '300 with the Signoria Scaligera. The stem supporting the pedestal of the statue depicts the faces of the four rulers of the city: the mythical Vero, Alboino king of the Lombards, Berengario and again Verona regina.

The statue holds a copper scroll with the following inscription EST JUSTI LATRIX URBS HAEC ET LAUDIS AMATRIX. That is, "Verona is a city that provides justice and loves to be praised", the ancient motto of the city.

Torre dei Lamberti

The Torre dei Lamberti is an 84 m high tower in Verona, northern Italy.

Construction of the tower began in 1172. In May 1403, the top of the tower was struck by lightning, but restoration works did not commence until 1448, lasting for 16 years. During this period, the tower was expanded, with the newer sections distinguishable today by their use of different materials, such as marble. The prominent clock was added in 1779.

The tower houses two bells: the Marangona , which signals fires, work times, and the hours of the day, and the larger one, called Rengo, used to summon the population to arms or to convene the city's councils. It was used for this purpose during the revolt called Veronese Easter in 1797.

We stop for coffee and hot chocolate at Caffe Le Fogge, they were all out of Muffins!

Basilica di Santa Anastasia

Walking on we pass Basilica di Santa Anastasia.

Basilica of Saint Anastasia is a church built by the Dominican Order in Verona, northern Italy. In Gothic style, it is the largest church in the city, located in its most ancient district, near the Ponte Pietra. Construction of the current church started in 1280 on the site of an earlier church of the Lombard period. Designed by Dominican friars Fra' Benvenuto da Imola and Fra' Nicola da Imola, it was largely completed by 1400, although works continued intermittently throughout much of the 14th and 15th centuries.

We turn left and walk along before we reach Ponte Pietra.

The Ponte Pietra (Italian for "Stone Bridge") is a Roman arch bridge crossing the Adige River in Verona, Italy. The bridge was completed in 100 BC, and the Via Postumia from Genoa to Aquileia passed over it. It is the oldest bridge in Verona.

It originally flanked another Roman bridge, the Pons Postumius; both structures provided the city (on the right bank) with access to the Roman theatre on the east bank. The arch nearest to the right bank of the Adige was rebuilt in 1298 by Alberto I della Scala. Four arches of the bridge were blown up by retreating German troops in World War II, but rebuilt in 1957 with original materials.

We cross the bridge over the River Adige.

We stop for photos in this beautiful location!

We cross the road to walk up the amazing viewpoint at Punto Panoramico.

There are a lot of stairs up, but the climb is worth the views!

Seeing Verona from above allows you to observe the monuments of this city, so rich in art and history, in a unique and unparalleled way.

Colle San Pietro (Saint Peter’s Hill) is a hill, which rises a few hundred meters above the Roman Theatre. It is a place of great touristic interest. It's possible to reach it on foot thanks to the suggestive stairway that leaving from Ponte Pietra bordering the Roman Theatre, swiftly leads to its top.

During the Roman age the hill was called “Monte Gallo” (Rooster Mountain), and had a strong religious function because of its temple and theatre which is still preserved.

The name “Colle San Pietro” was given to the hill during the Medieval Period when a church dedicated to Saint Peter was erected on the remains of the ancient Roman temple.

Being a strategic place of the town, starting from the medieval period up to 1321, when Cangrande della Scala was lord of the town, was fortified as a battlements point as typical of that historical period.

Between the XIV and XV centuries, the hill, together with lots of other building works, the famous Castello Visconteo (the Castel of the Viscount) was erected, the reason being Gian Galeazzo Visconti, lord of the town, wanted the place to become a fortified stronghold controlling the whole town.

The fortified citadel gained further importance with the Serenissima, which maintained the castle and constructed more around it.

In 1801, when the Napoleonic army arrived, most of the ancient buildings were destroyed.

The function of the site definitively chanced when the Austrians arrived. The ancient Saint Peter’s church was destroyed and, according to field marshal Radetzky will, an army base and barracks were built as a residence for the Austrian soldiers. The barracks are still at the top of the hill.

The fortress style, designed by the Austrian engineer-officer Conrad Petrasch, dramatically changed the original look of the site: the structure had a clearly military look even though “softened” by the crenels resembling the ancient “mura scaligere”, the surrounding city walls.

The historical name “Castel San Pietro” remains to identify this architectural complex rich in history. Thanks to its rich historical vestiges that still are preserved, Saint Peter’s Hill is a picturesque place, full of history and charm. Loved by tourists but most of all by Veronese people, it is a place not to be missed to enjoy the magnificent view of the fascinating Scaliger town.

We start our walk back down the hill.

We cross back over the road and the Ponte Pietra.

Handmade pasta being made.

We make friends with a dog as we walk back into the city.

We have a walk about and stop in a patisserie for lunch.

We then hang around for a while for a football shop to reopen so George can buy a Milan Pennant.

We walk on reaching Porta Lenoi.

Porta Leoni (Gate of the Lions) is an ancient Roman gate in Verona, northern Italy.

The gate was built during the Roman Republic by P. Valerius, Q. Caecilius, Q. Servilius and P. Cornelius, and restructured in imperial times. It was connected to the road which led to Bologna and Aquileia.

The original Roman name is unknown. During the Middle Ages it was called Porta San Fermo, due to the nearby church, while in the Renaissance it was known as Arco di Valerio. The current name derives from a Roman tomb decorated with two lions (Italian: leoni), now moved near Ponte Navi.

The gate has a square structures, with a double façade and two towers which looked towards the countryside. Now only half of the inner façade, covered with white stone in the imperial age, and the foundings are visible. The original decorations are all lost. The lower part is similar to that of Porta Borsari (also in Verona), while the upper part has an exedra with twisted columns.

Across the road was Al Buso Rock Store / Albus Store, an interesting store!

Al Buso, a historic shop in Verona, was founded 50 years ago as a sports shop. Known throughout Italy and a destination for collectors of scarves and sports jerseys, starting in the 80s the shop began its journey into the world of rock-metal music, with the first t-shirts and gadgets, such as bracelets and studded belts. In the years to come, the specialization in articles of all kinds related to musical groups became increasingly targeted, ranging across various genres. Today, the shop also looks to the world of films and superheroes, with official t-shirts, posters and more.

Another distinctive feature of the store is the customization of t-shirts and sweatshirts. In a cross-section of sports, music and films, 'il Buso' is a point of reference for all those looking for official merchandising of all kinds.

We walk back to the Station and catch the train back to Pechiera.