Verona.

Verona is a beautiful city in the Veneto region.

It is where the story of Juliet and Romeo happened (who knows...maybe a similar story took place there...)

I was born in Verona...but this is another story.

The Arena is surely the highlight of Verona. It was probably built around the I century a. C. Today it is a venue for operas and concerts. It can host 22. 000 people. Pic courtesy by Victor Khorishko.

There are several ancient churches to visit in Verona.

Saint Anastasia church is in reality dedicated to saint Peter; co patron saint of Verona with saint Zeno.

It was built between 1290 and 1500. On the site where the church is situated two churches stood. One of these was dedicated to saint Anastasia. The other to saint Remigio.

Saint Anastasia is the largest church in Verona.

It houses seventeen chapels with several paintings and frescoes from the 15th to the 16th centuries.

One of the highlights of this church is the fresco painted by Pisanello in 1433. It is titled saint George freeing the princess.

You will surely not miss the nice hunchbacks statues that support two holy water fonts. They are located just off the entrance of the church.

San Fermo Maggiore is another church worth a visit in Verona.

It was built by the Benedictine monks between 1065 and 1143 on the remains of two churches dated to the V and the VIII centuries

It was built to house Saint Fermo and Rustico' s relics. They were martyrized on that site.

They built two churches. The lower church to house the saints relics and the upper one to celebrate masses.

Later the church became property of the Franciscan monks.

They turned it into the church we see today from 1261 al 1350.

Through the following centuries chapels, burial monuments and altars were added to the church.

Even this church as other churches in Verona has lots of frescoes, several chapels and lots of artworks.

The lower church is open to visitors as well. There are frescoes dated to the XII, XIII and XIV centuries inside.

San Fermo Maggiore.

San Fermo Maggiore; inside the crypt.

San Zeno Maggiore is quite fare from the city center, but it is worth a visit.

This large church is the third structure built on this site.

It was rebuilt between 1120 and 1138 over a 4th century shrine to Verona' s patron saint; Saint Zeno. He was the eight Verona's bishop.

This church was enlarged between the XIII and the XIV centuries.

The saint's body was laid in a into the crypt inside this church. This crypt dated to the X centuries.

As some other churches in Verona San Zeno Maggiore has lots of beautiful frescoes.

These were painted between the XII and the XIV centuries.

Very long ago this church belonged to a Benedictine monastery.

Today we can see only a tower and a cloister that were part of this monastery.

There is a castle in Verona; Castelvecchio is its name.

This castle was built between 1354 and 1356 on previous fortifications. It was used as a fortress but also as mansion for the lords of Verona.

It has seven towers, a castle keep and a bridge (rebuilt after the second world war).

Under the Venice domination the castle became an arsenal and a garrison.

During the Austrian occupation it was used as barracks.

At the beginning of the 1900 it was restored and transformed into a museum.

From 1958 until 1964 it was restored again.

Today this castle houses a museum with some collections of Medieval, Reinassance and modern art.

Here you can see a collection of paintings, statues, jewels and other things made until the XVIII century.

Sometimes there are also temporary exibitions at the castle.

Once you visited the museum you can explore the castle, walk on its ramparts and enjoy the landscape over part of Verona.

Giardino Giusti was once some fields behind a palace. Palazzo Giusti. It was laid out in 1570.

The palace and the garden belonged to the Giusti family. They were wool merchants of Tuscan origin.

Part of the garden has a cypress path, a parterre with statues, some fountains and a hedge maze rebuilt in 1786.

There is even a collection of Roman remains there. Another area of this garden is practically a kind of wood.

Giardino Giusti is made of two levels. If you climb up to the upper one you will enjoy a great landscape over the city.

This garden has very few plants with flowers unfortunately.

The entry ticket to this garden includes a visit to the Giusti palace.

Giusti Palace was built originally in the late 1500.

Here you can visit seven furnished rooms.

Piazza (square) delle Erbe stands where there was the Roman forum. The forum was larger than this square.

Several palaces surround this square.

On its west side we see Palazzo Maffei; built in the XVII century. It has some statues representing Greek deities on its roof.

Besides this palace you can see a tower; torre del Gardello. It was built in the 1200 and modified and raised in 1363.

Pic courtesy by Francesca Angelini.

Near Palazzo Maffei there is a group of palaces with frescoes. These are the Case dei Mazzanti. They date to the XIV century.

Case dei Mazzanti stand the Palazzo della Ragione, or del Comune (town hall); built in the 1200. It is overlooked by the Lamberti tower (1172).

The fountain you see in the center of this square was made with a Roman statue. Its name is Madonna Verona.

Pic courtesy by Francesca Angelini.

The capitel ; not far from the fountain dates back to the XIII century.

The podestà used to sit under this during the ceremony for their assignment.

Another building of ancient origin in this square is the Domus Mercatorum. It was originally built in 1301.

Today piazza delle Erbe houses a fruit and vegetable market, but here you can also find several souvenirs stalls.

Juliet' s house is located in a courtyard; at the end of a passage.

It was built between 1200 and 1300 and restored at the end of the XIX century. A balcony was added to this building in 1936.

This house belonged for a long time to a family named Cappello or Cappelletti.

This name is quite similar to Capuleti; Juliet' s surname. Hence the reason to choose this house as Juliet' s house.

Juliet was a fictional character created by a writer from Vicenza; Antonio da Ponte for a novel.

Later, as we know Shakespeare wrote a play based on that novel.

You can visit Juliet' s house inside for a fee.

As I read, it is a kind of museum with some dresses used for the movie Juliet and Romeo by Franco Zeffirelli and some furniture.

The passage leading to the courtyard is full of small scraps of paper with love wows.

In the courtyard there is a tall bronze statue representing Juliet. Touching its right breast it will bring luck to all who are trying to find their true love.

Just a warning; this courtyard is one of the most crowded places in Verona.