Verona, Italy, Part Two

Beautiful Verona, Italy. It is a city often overlooked by tourists, whose focus is on the cities of Milan or Venice, yet Verona holds many interesting and historical sights and is easily explored in a day or two.  Many visitors are interested to explore the sites in Verona made famous by Shakespeare in his play Romeo and Juliet, as I showed in my prior blog post, click here, but there is so much more to see and do.
Piazza delle Erbe in Verona is one of the most historical and picturesque city squares in the whole country. Once the site of the Roman Forum, where chariot races were held, it is now the site for the local market.

Please remember, all photos and photo collages in this post can be enlarged for easier viewing of details by clicking on the photo.

Many stalls and shops line the piazza, as well as cafes and restaurants.

The highlight of this square is the Madonna Verona Fountain, which was created by Cansignorio della Scala in 1368. This 14th-century Roman statue is also known as The Virgin of Verona and is actually a Roman statue that dates back to 380 AD.

The three-story Palazzo Maffei is also on the square and is famous for its Baroque architecture and facade decorated with statues of Greek gods. Standing in front of the building is a white marble column topped with a statue of St. Mark's Lion, a symbol of the Republic of Venice which once ruled Verona.

Piazza Erbe is dominated by the tallest of Verona’s towers, the Torre dei Lamberti, built by the powerful Lamberti Family in 1172. Verona in the Middle Ages was a city dotted with tall towers which were a visible symbol of the wealth and power of the noble families which lived in them. Torre dei Lamberti is a surviving tower to a whole group of towers which rose next to the Palazzo della Ragione and is 276 feet high (84 m).

My husband and I purchased tickets to go up to the top of the tower...

...where we enjoyed seeing the views of the city of Verona and surrounding area.

The tower houses two famous bells at the top, the Rengo, and the Marangona, which kept time and regulated city life. The Marangoni signaled the end of the working day for the artisans and also sounded the alarm in case of fire, whilst the Rengo summoned the Town Council and citizens of Verona in times of war. The bells still ring during funerals.

Close to Piazza Erbe are the very ornate Scaliger Family Tombs. They are a group of five Gothic funerary monuments in Verona, Italy, celebrating the Scaliger family, who ruled in Verona from the 13th to the late 14th century.

We visited the nearby Sant’Anastasia Basilica, which is one of Italy’s rare gems built in the Gothic style. It was constructed by the Dominicans from the 13th to the 15th century.

The Basilica is famous for its fresco of  “Saint George and the Princess of Trebizond” painted by Pisanello, which is located in the Pellegrini Chapel.

Like all churches in Italy, the basilica is full of magnificent artwork and sculptures

A true feast for the eyes!

The hunchback figurines supporting the two stoups at the base of the first columns of the church’s central nave are also famous. The one seen on the top right of the collage is the work of Gabriele Caliari, eldest son of Paolo Caliari, better known as the Veronese.  The one in the bottom of the photo collage above is attributed to Paolo Orifice. Both statues symbolize the humility and poverty of the Veronese population. 

In the Piazza dei Signori stands a statue of the poet Dante Alighieri. It's the work of Ugo Zannoni and was erected in 1865. Verona was where Dante lived for six years between 1312 and 1318 in Cangrande's residence, editing the Inferno and Purgatorio and working on the final part of the Comedia, Paradiso.

In my last post--click here--I also spoke a little bit about Verona's first century Arena, located next to Piazza Bra. Built by the Roman Empire, it was here where gladiators fought to the death before the eyes of 30,000 spectators. After the Empire fell, the arena became the scene of jousts, tournaments, and trials. The Verona arena also became a quarry of fallen stones, when earthquakes knocked down many of its surrounding walls. It is still in remarkable shape and now seats 15,000 inside.  It is most often used for opera productions, but the day we visited Verona a Music Festival Finale was being televised that evening from the arena, and we were fortunate to receive complimentary tickets to attend it.

It was a thrill to walk into the ancient arena that was constructed so long ago. Our seats were one of the cement block rings that lined its inner circular walls, where we had a wonderful view of the stage.

The show began with the finale of a summer-long singing competition, sort of like an American Idol Finale, with three singers that were from Naples, Ragusa, and Milan. Afterward, singers and dancers from around Italy performed.  If you'd like to listen to one of the performers singing you can click here to view the video on my Mille Fiori Favoriti Facebook page. Our very full day in Verona had come to a delightful end. The next day we were traveling on to Padua, another exquisite city in the Veneto region. I hope you will join me again to view some of its treasures in my next blog post.

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Festival Show 2017: here is the grand finale at the Arena di Verona with Alex Britti and Francesco Gabbani
„Naples, Ragusa and the band Thema from Milan.“
settembre-2017.html

 CHIARA RANIERI from Naples, the singer NICO from Ragusa and the band THEMA from Milan.“

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