Verona
Encyclopedia
Verona is a city in the Veneto
, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality
in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area
of Verona covers an area of 1426 km² (550.58 sq mi) and has a population of 714,274 inhabitants. It is one of the main tourist destinations in northern Italy, owing to its artistic heritage, several annual fairs, shows, and opera
s, such as the lyrical season in the Arena
, the ancient amphitheatre
built by the Romans
.
The city has been awarded world heritage site
status by UNESCO
because of its urban structure and architecture.
, who were obliged to give it up to the Cenomani
(550 BC). With the conquest of the Vaecame Roman (about 300 BC) Verona became a Roman colonia in 89 BC
, and then a municipium in 49 BC
; Verona had the franchise in 59.
The city became important because it was at the intersection of several roads. Stilicho
defeated Alaric
and his Visigoths here in 403. But, after Verona was conquered in (489 AD) the Gothic
domination of Italy began; Theodoric
built his palace there, and according to Germanic legends that's what Verona was named after. It remained under the power of the Goths throughout the Gothic War (535–552), except for of a single day in 541, when the Armenian officer Artabazes
made an entrance. The defections that took place among the Byzantine generals with regard to the booty made it possible for the Goths to regain possession of the city. In 552 Valerian
vainly endeavoured to enter it, but only when they were fully overthrown, the Goths 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 himself was killed by his own wife in 572. The dukes of Treviso often resided there. At Verona Adalgis
us, son of Desiderius
, in 774 made his last desperate resistance to Charlemagne
, who had destroyed the Lombard kingdom. Verona was then 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. Otto I
ceded to Verona the marquisate dependent on the Duchy of Bavaria
.
The splendour of the city in those days, dominated by its forty-eight towers, is described in a Latin ode we shall speak of later. The increasing wealth of the burgher families eclipsed the power of the counts, and in 1100 Verona organised itself as a commune. The San Bonifacio could at most hold the office of podestà of the city now and then. Verona, at first undecided, was forced by Vicenza
to join the Lombard League
. This, however, gave rise to the factions of Guelphs and Ghibellines
in Verona. When Ezzelino IV
was elected podestà, in 1226, he was able to convert the office into a permanent lordship, and in 1257 he caused the slaughter of 11,000 Padua
ns on the plain of Verona (Campi di Verona). Upon his death the Great Council elected as podestà
Mastino della Scala
, and he converted the "signoria" into a family possession, though leaving the burghers a share in the government. Failing to be re-elected podestà in 1262, he effected a coup d'état, and was acclaimed capitano del popolo, with the command of the communal troops. It was not without long internal discord that he succeeded in establishing this new office, to which was attached the function of confirming the podestà. In 1272 Mastino was killed by the faction of the nobles.
The reign of his son Alberto as capitano (1277–1302) was one incessant war against the counts of San Bonifacio, who were aided by the House of Este. Of his sons, Bartolomeo, Alboino and Cangrande I
, only the last shared the government (1308); he was great as warrior, prince, and patron of the arts; he protected Dante
, Petrarch
, and Giotto
. By war or treaty he brought under his control the cities of Padua
(1328), Treviso
(1308) and Vicenza
.
Alberto was succeeded by Mastino II
(1329–1351) and Alberto, sons of Alboino. Mastino continued his uncle's policy, conquering Brescia
in 1332 and carrying his power beyond the Po. He purchased Parma
(1335) and Lucca
(1339). After the King of France, he was the richest prince of his time. But a powerful league was formed against him in 1337 – Florence
, Venice
, the Visconti
, the Este, and the Gonzaga
. After a three years war, the Scaliger dominions were reduced to Verona and Vicenza
(Mastino's daughter Regina-Beatrice della Scala married to Barnabò Visconti
). Mastino's son Cangrande II
(1351–1359) was a cruel, dissolute, and suspicious tyrant; not trusting his own subjects, he surrounded himself with Brandenburg mercenaries. He was killed by his brother Cansignorio (1359–1375), who beautified the city with palaces, provided it with aqueducts and bridges, and founded the state treasury. He also killed his other brother, Paolo Alboino. Fratricide seems to have become a family custom, for Antonio (1375–87), Cansignorio's natural brother, slew his brother Bartolomeo, thereby arousing the indignation of the people, who deserted him when Gian Galeazzo Visconti
of Milan
made war on him. Having exhausted all his resources, he fled from Verona at midnight (19 October 1387), thus putting an end to the Scaliger domination, which, however, survived in its monuments.
The year 1387 is also the year of the famous Battle of Castagnaro
, between Giovanni Ordelaffi
, for Verona, and John Hawkwood
, for Padua
, who was the winner.
Antonio's son Canfrancesco
in vain attempted to recover Verona (1390).
Guglielmo (1404), natural son of Cangrande II, was more fortunate; with the support of the people, he drove out the Milan
ese, but he died ten days after, and Verona then submitted to Venice
(1405). The last representatives of the Scaligeri lived at the imperial court and repeatedly attempted to recover Verona by the aid of popular risings.
From 1508 to 1517 the city was in the power of the Emperor Maximilian I
. There were numerous outbreaks of the plague
, and in 1629–33 Italy was struck by its worst outbreak in modern times. In Verona an estimated 33,000 people (of a total of 54,000) died in 1630–1631.
Verona was occupied by Napoleon
in 1797, but on Easter Monday
the populace rose and drove out the French. It was then that Napoleon
made an end of the Venetian Republic
. Verona became Austrian territory when Napoleon signed the Treaty of Campo Formio
in October, 1797. The Austrians took control of the city on January 18, 1798. It was taken from Austria by the Treaty of Pressburg
in 1805 and became part of Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy
, but was returned to Austria following Napoleon's defeat in 1814, when it became part of the Austrian-held Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia
. In 1866, following the Six Weeks War, Verona, along with the rest of Venetia, became part of Italy.
In 1866, on the anniversary of the defeat of Königrätz
, the Austrians evacuated Verona, their strongest fortress in Venetia, which thus became Italian.
The advent of fascism
added another dark chapter to the annals of Verona. As throughout Italy, the Jewish population was hit by the anti-Semitic laws (1938), and after the invasion by Nazi Germany
in 1943, deportations to Nazi concentration camps
. An Austrian Fort (now a church, the Santuario della Madonna di Lourdes), was used to incarcerate and torture allied troops
, Jews and anti-fascist
suspects especially after 1943, when Verona became part of the Repubblica di Salò or "Social Republic
".
As in Austrian times, Verona became of great strategic importance to the regime. Galeazzo Ciano
, Benito Mussolini
's son in law was accused of plotting against the republic during a mock trial
staged by the Nazi and fascist hierarchy in Castelvecchio
. Ciano was executed on the banks of the Adige with many other officers on what is today Via Colombo. This marked another turning point in the escalation of violence that would only end with the final liberation by allied troops and partisans in 1945.
After World War II, as Italy entered into NATO, Verona acquired once again its strategic importance, due to its closeness to the iron curtain
. The city became the seat of SETAF (South European Allied Terrestrial Forces) and had during the whole duration of the Cold War
period a strong military presence, especially American, which is decreasing only in these recent years. Now Verona is an important and dynamic city, very active in terms of economy, and also a very important tourist attraction because of its history, where the Roman past lives side by side with the Middle Age Verona, which in some senses brings about its architectural and artistic motifs.
written by William Shakespeare
was based in Verona. One of Shakespeare's early comedies was titled The Two Gentlemen of Verona
.
's quasi-Mediterranean climate
has a partial influence on the city. The relative humidity
is high throughout the year, especially in winter when it causes fog
, mainly from dusk till late morning, although the phenomenon has become increasingly less frequent in recent years.
, of whom 47.6% were male and 52.4% were female. Minors (children aged 0-17) totalled 16.05% of the population compared to pensioners who number 22.36%. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06%(minors) and 19.94%(pensioners). The average age of Verona residents is 43 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Verona grew by 3.05%, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.85%. The current birth rate
of Verona is 9.24 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births.
As of 2009, 87% of the population was Italian. The largest immigrant group comes from other European nations (the largest coming from Romania
): 3.60%, South Asia
: 2.03%, and sub-saharan Africa
1.50%. The city is predominantly Roman Catholic, but due to immigration now has some Orthodox Christian
, Muslim
and Hindu
followers.
Source: ISTAT – Istituto Nazionale di Statistica
Because of the value and importance of its many historical buildings, Verona has been named a UNESCO
World Heritage Site
. Verona preserved many ancient Roman monuments, no longer in use, in the early Middle Ages
, but much of this and much of its early medieval edifices were destroyed or heavily damaged by the earthquake of 3 January 1117
, which led to a massive Romanesque
rebuilding. The Carolingian period
Versus de Verona
contains an important description of Verona in the early medieval era.
settlement in what is now the centre of the city was to expand through the cardi
and decumani
that intersect at right angles. This structure has been kept to the present day and is clearly visible from the air. Further development has not reshaped the original map. Though the Roman city with its basalt-paved roads is mostly hidden from view it stands virtually intact about 6 m below the surface. Most palazzi and houses have cellars built on Roman artifacts that are unfortunately rarely accessible to visitors. Piazza delle Erbe
, near the Roman forum was rebuilt by Cangrande I
and Cansignorio della Scala I
, lords of Verona, using material (such as marble blocks and statues) from Roman spas and villas.
Verona is famous for its Roman amphitheatre
, the Arena
found in the city's largest piazza, the Piazza Bra
. Completed around 30 AD, it is the third largest in Italy after Rome's Colosseum
and the arena at Capua
. It measures 139 metres long and 110 metres wide, and could seat some 25,000 spectators in its 44 tiers of marble seats. The ludi
(shows and gladiator
games) performed within its walls were so famous that they attracted spectators from far beyond the city. The current two-story façade
is actually the internal support for the tiers; only a fragment of the original outer perimeter wall in white and pink limestone
from Valpolicella
, with three stories remains.The interior is very impressive and is virtually intact, and has remained in use even today for public events, fairs, theatre and open-aired opera
during warm summer nights.
There is also a variety of other Roman monuments
to be found in the town, such as the Roman theatre of Verona. This theatre was built in the 1st century BC, but through the ages had fallen in disuse and had been built upon to provide housing. In the 18th century Andrea Monga, a wealthy Veronese, bought all the houses that in time had been built over the theatre, demolished them, and saved the monument. Not far from it is the Ponte di Pietra ("Stone Wall Bridge"), another Roman landmark that has survived to this day.
The Arco dei Gavi
(Gavi Arch) was built in the 1st century AD, and is famous for having the name of the builder (architect Lucius Vitruvius Cordo
ne) engraved on it, a really rare case in the architecture of the epoque. It originally straddled the main Roman road into the city, now the Corso Cavour. It had been demolished by the French troops in 1805 and was rebuilt in 1932.
Nearby is the Porta Borsari
, an archway at the end of Corso Porta Borsari. This is the façade of a 3rd century gate in the original Roman city walls
. The inscription is dated 245 AD and gives the city name as Colonia Verona Augusta. Corso Porta Borsari, the road passing through the gate is the original Via Sacra
of the Roman city. Today, it is lined with several Renaissance
palazzi
and the ancient Church of SS. Apostoli (left), a few metres from Piazza delle Erbe.
Porta Leoni
is the 1st century BC ruin of what was once part of the Roman city gate
. A substantial portion is still standing as part of the wall of a medieval building. The street itself is an open archaeological site
, and the remains of the original Roman street and gateway foundations can be seen a few feet below the present street level. As can be seen from there, the gate contains a small court guarded by towers. Here, carriages and travelers were inspected before entering or leaving the city.
is considered one of the great achievements of Romanesque architecture
. The present structure is the 3rd on this site, built from 1123–1135, over the 4th century shrine to Verona's patron saint
, St. Zeno
(died 380). The façade
dominates the large square, and is flanked with a beautiful 72 metres tall bell tower
, which is mentioned by Dante
in Canto 18 of Purgatory in the Divine Comedy. The weathered Veronese stone gives a warm golden glow and the restrained lines of the pillars, columns, cornices and the gallery with its double windows give the façade an air of harmonious elegance. The huge rose window
is decorated as a Wheel of Fortune. The lintels above the portal have carvings of the months of the year. Each side of the doorway is embellished with 18 bas-relief
panels of biblical scenes, and the inner bronze
door has panels have 48 primitive but forceful Biblical scenes and depictions from the life of St Zeno. The meaning of some of the scenes is now unknown, but the extraordinarily vivid, barbaric energy of the figures is a superb blend of traditional and Ottonian influences. The interior of the church is divided into a Lower Church, occupying about 2/3 of the structure, and the Upper Church, occupying the remainder. The walls are covered with 12th and 14th century fresco
s and the ceiling of the nave
is a magnificent example of a ship's keel ceiling. The vaulted crypt
contains the tomb of St. Zeno
, the first Bishop of Verona, as well as the tombs of several other saints. North of the church is a pleasant cloister. The church also houses the tomb of King Pippin of Italy (777–810).
The small Romanesque Basilica of San Lorenzo is one of the finest and most important in the city. Its dates from around 1177, but is built on the site of a Paleochristian
church, some fragments of which remain. The church is built of alternating tracks of brick
and stone, and has two cylindrical towers, housing spiral staircases to the women's galleries. Inside, the atmosphere is rather severe, but is still quiet and peaceful. The striped bands of stone and brick and the graceful arches complement the setting.
With a span length of 48.7 m (159.78 ft), the 1356 completed segmental arch bridge
Ponte Scaligero
featured at the time the world's largest bridge arch.
Santa Maria Antica
is a huge Romanesque
church was the parish church
of the Scaligeri clan, and is famous for the Gothic Scaliger Tombs
. The Duomo
is also a notable Romanesque church.
Sant'Anastasia is a huge and lofty church built from 1290–1481 by the Dominicans
to hold the massive congregations attracted by their rousing fundamentalist sermons. The Pellegrini chapel houses the famous fresco St. George and the Princess of Trebizond by Pisanello
as well as the grave of Wilhelm von Bibra
.
The famous square also holds its art festival in May.
Verona was the birthplace of Catullus
, and the town that Julius Caesar
chose for relaxing stays. In its history many important names passed and events happened that were relevant for the European history, like Theodoric the Great
, king of Ostrogoths, Alboin
and Rosamunda, the Lombard
Dukes, Charlemagne
and Pippin of Italy, Berengar I
, Dante
. Conclaves
were held here, as were important congresses. Verona was in the travel diaries of Goethe
, Stendhal
and Paul Valéry
.
, who is now in the second division of Italian football
, Serie B
. The other team, Chievo Verona
, is currently playing in Serie A
.
Hellas Verona won Italian Championship in 1984/1985 joining the UEFA Champions League
the following year.
Verona has a volleyball major team named Marmi Lanza Verona, now in Serie A1; and a basketball team named Scaligera Basket, now in Legadue.
Verona has hosted the Football World Cup in 1990; has twice hosted the UCI Road World Championships
, in 1999
(co-hosted with Treviso
) and 2004
.
Verona has also hosted the baseball world cup in 2009 and the Volleyball World Cup in September–October 2010.
to Rome intersects with the east-west line between Milan and Venice, giving the city rail access to most of Europe. The city is, therefore, served by international, regional and local services.
Verona's main station is Verona Porta Nuova railway station
, to the south of the city centre. It is considered to be the ninth busiest railway station in Italy, handling approximately 68,000 passengers per day, or 25 million passengers per year.
There is a lesser station to the east of the city at Porta Vescovo, which used to be the main station in Verona, but now only receives trains between Venice and Porta Nuova.
is located 2.7 NM southwest of Verona. It handles around 3½ million passengers per year. It is linked to Porta Nuova railway station by a frequent bus service.
There are direct flights between Verona and Rome Fiumicino, Munich, Naples, Frankfurt, Catania, Paris Charles De Gaulle, London Gatwick, Palermo, Vienna Schwechat, and Cagliari among others.
Pula
, Croatia
, has a similar Roman amphitheatre
Nîmes
, France, has a similar Roman amphitheatre
Munich
, Germany, shares with Verona the title of "twin portal to their country" Salzburg
, Austria, shares a common heritage of musical tradition Bethlehem
, Palestinian Authority Ra'anana
, Israel
, since 1998 Mashhad
, Iran
Ningbo
, China, the city where Chinese romantic tragedy, "Butterfly Lovers
" take place. Saint-Josse-ten-Noode
, Belgium
Košice
, Slovakia
, since 1992 Nagahama
, Japan Fresno
, USA Albany
, USA Detmold
, Germany Corfu
, Greece Korça
, Albania
Ayacucho
, Peru
Lecce
, Italy
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area
Metropolitan area
The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...
of Verona covers an area of 1426 km² (550.58 sq mi) and has a population of 714,274 inhabitants. It is one of the main tourist destinations in northern Italy, owing to its artistic heritage, several annual fairs, shows, and opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s, such as the lyrical season in the Arena
Verona Arena
The Verona Arena is a Roman amphitheatre in Piazza Bra in Verona, Italy, which is internationally famous for the large-scale opera performances given there. It is one of the best preserved ancient structures of its kind....
, the ancient amphitheatre
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
built by the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
.
The city has been awarded world heritage site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
status by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
because of its urban structure and architecture.
History
The precise details of Verona's early history remain a mystery. The origin of the name Verona is also unknown. One theory is it was a city of the EuganeiEuganei
The Euganei is a semi-mythical proto-Italic ethnic group that dwelt an area among Adriatic Sea and Rhaetian Alps...
, who were obliged to give it up to the Cenomani
Cenomani (Cisalpine Gaul)
The Cenomani , was an ancient tribe of the Cisalpine Gauls, who occupied the tract north of the Padus , between the Insubres on the west and the Veneti on the east. Their territory appears to have extended from the river Addua to the Athesis...
(550 BC). With the conquest of the Vaecame Roman (about 300 BC) Verona became a Roman colonia in 89 BC
89 BC
Year 89 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Strabo and Cato...
, and then a municipium in 49 BC
49 BC
Year 49 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lentulus and Marcellus...
; Verona had the franchise in 59.
The city became important because it was at the intersection of several roads. Stilicho
Stilicho
Flavius Stilicho was a high-ranking general , Patrician and Consul of the Western Roman Empire, notably of Vandal birth. Despised by the Roman population for his Germanic ancestry and Arian beliefs, Stilicho was in 408 executed along with his wife and son...
defeated Alaric
Alaric I
Alaric I was the King of the Visigoths from 395–410. Alaric is most famous for his sack of Rome in 410, which marked a decisive event in the decline of the Roman Empire....
and his Visigoths here in 403. But, after Verona was conquered in (489 AD) the Gothic
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
domination of Italy began; Theodoric
Theodoric I
Theodoric I sometimes called Theodorid and in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian Teodorico, was the King of the Visigoths from 418 to 451. An illegitimate son of Alaric, Theodoric is famous for defeating Attila at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451, where he was mortally wounded.-Early...
built his palace there, and according to Germanic legends that's what Verona was named after. It remained under the power of the Goths throughout the Gothic War (535–552), except for of a single day in 541, when the Armenian officer Artabazes
Artabazes (military officer)
Artabazes was a Byzantine military officer, recorded taking part in the Gothic War. He was killed just prior to the Battle of Faventia. The main source about him is Procopius. - Biography :...
made an entrance. The defections that took place among the Byzantine generals with regard to the booty made it possible for the Goths to regain possession of the city. In 552 Valerian
Valerian (emperor)
Valerian , also known as Valerian the Elder, was Roman Emperor from 253 to 260. He was taken captive by Persian king Shapur I after the Battle of Edessa, becoming the only Roman Emperor who was captured as a prisoner of war, resulting in wide-ranging instability across the Empire.-Origins and rise...
vainly endeavoured to enter it, but only when they were fully overthrown, the Goths surrendered it.
In 569 it was taken by Alboin
Alboin
Alboin was king of the Lombards from about 560 until 572. During his reign the Lombards ended their migrations by settling in Italy, the northern part of which Alboin conquered between 569 and 572...
, King of the Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
, in whose kingdom it was, in a sense, the second most important city. There, Alboin himself was killed by his own wife in 572. The dukes of Treviso often resided there. At Verona Adalgis
Adalgis
Adalgis was the son of Desiderius and the prince of the Langobards or Lombardia in Italy. After his father was defeated by Charlemagne in Pavia in 774, Adalgis took refuge in Byzantium...
us, son of Desiderius
Desiderius
Desiderius was the last king of the Lombard Kingdom of northern Italy...
, in 774 made his last desperate resistance to Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
, who had destroyed the Lombard kingdom. Verona was then the ordinary residence of the kings of Italy
King of Italy
King of Italy is a title adopted by many rulers of the Italian peninsula after the fall of the Roman Empire...
, the government of the city becoming hereditary in the family of Count Milo, progenitor of the counts of San Bonifacio
San Bonifacio
San Bonifacio is a comune in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about 80 km west of Venice and about 25 km east of Verona....
. From 880 to 951 the two Berengarii resided there. Otto I
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto I the Great , son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy" according to Arnulf of Milan...
ceded to Verona the marquisate dependent on the Duchy of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
.
The splendour of the city in those days, dominated by its forty-eight towers, is described in a Latin ode we shall speak of later. The increasing wealth of the burgher families eclipsed the power of the counts, and in 1100 Verona organised itself as a commune. The San Bonifacio could at most hold the office of podestà of the city now and then. Verona, at first undecided, was forced by Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...
to join the Lombard League
Lombard League
The Lombard League was an alliance formed around 1167, which at its apex included most of the cities of northern Italy , including, among others, Crema, Cremona, Mantua, Piacenza, Bergamo, Brescia, Milan, Genoa, Bologna, Padua, Modena, Reggio Emilia, Treviso, Venice, Vercelli, Vicenza, Verona,...
. This, however, gave rise to the factions of Guelphs and Ghibellines
Guelphs and Ghibellines
The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in central and northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the split between these two parties was a particularly important aspect of the internal policy of the Italian city-states...
in Verona. When Ezzelino IV
Ezzelino III da Romano
Ezzelino III da Romano was an Italian feudal lord in the March of Treviso who was a close ally of the emperor Frederick II and ruled Verona, Vicenza and Padua for almost two decades...
was elected podestà, in 1226, he was able to convert the office into a permanent lordship, and in 1257 he caused the slaughter of 11,000 Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
ns on the plain of Verona (Campi di Verona). Upon his death the Great Council elected as podestà
Podestà
Podestà is the name given to certain high officials in many Italian cities, since the later Middle Ages, mainly as Chief magistrate of a city state , but also as a local administrator, the representative of the Emperor.The term derives from the Latin word potestas, meaning power...
Mastino della Scala
Mastino I della Scala
Mastino I della Scala , born Leonardo or Leonardino, was an Italian condottiero, who founded the Scaliger house of Lords of Verona....
, and he converted the "signoria" into a family possession, though leaving the burghers a share in the government. Failing to be re-elected podestà in 1262, he effected a coup d'état, and was acclaimed capitano del popolo, with the command of the communal troops. It was not without long internal discord that he succeeded in establishing this new office, to which was attached the function of confirming the podestà. In 1272 Mastino was killed by the faction of the nobles.
The reign of his son Alberto as capitano (1277–1302) was one incessant war against the counts of San Bonifacio, who were aided by the House of Este. Of his sons, Bartolomeo, Alboino and Cangrande I
Cangrande I della Scala
Cangrande della Scala was an Italian nobleman, the most celebrated of the della Scala family which ruled Verona from 1277 until 1387. Now perhaps best known as the leading patron of the poet Dante Alighieri, Cangrande was in his own day chiefly acclaimed as a successful warrior and autocrat...
, only the last shared the government (1308); he was great as warrior, prince, and patron of the arts; he protected Dante
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
, Petrarch
Petrarch
Francesco Petrarca , known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar, poet and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch is often called the "Father of Humanism"...
, and Giotto
Giotto di Bondone
Giotto di Bondone , better known simply as Giotto, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence in the late Middle Ages...
. By war or treaty he brought under his control the cities of Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
(1328), Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...
(1308) and Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...
.
Alberto was succeeded by Mastino II
Mastino II della Scala
Mastino II della Scala was lord of Verona. He was a member of the famous Scaliger family of northern Italy.He was the son of Alboino I della Scala and Beatrice da Correggio. At the death of Cangrande I, he and his brother Alberto II were associated in the rule of Verona. Soon, however, Mastino's...
(1329–1351) and Alberto, sons of Alboino. Mastino continued his uncle's policy, conquering Brescia
Brescia
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
in 1332 and carrying his power beyond the Po. He purchased Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
(1335) and Lucca
Lucca
Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...
(1339). After the King of France, he was the richest prince of his time. But a powerful league was formed against him in 1337 – Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, the Visconti
House of Visconti
Visconti is the family name of two important Italian noble dynasties of the Middle Ages. There are two distinct Visconti families: The first one in the Republic of Pisa in the mid twelfth century who achieved prominence first in Pisa, then in Sardinia where they became rulers of Gallura...
, the Este, and the Gonzaga
House of Gonzaga
The Gonzaga family ruled Mantua in Northern Italy from 1328 to 1708.-History:In 1433, Gianfrancesco I assumed the title of Marquis of Mantua, and in 1530 Federico II received the title of Duke of Mantua. In 1531, the family acquired the Duchy of Monferrato through marriage...
. After a three years war, the Scaliger dominions were reduced to Verona and Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...
(Mastino's daughter Regina-Beatrice della Scala married to Barnabò Visconti
Bernabo Visconti
Bernabò Visconti was an Italian soldier and statesman, who was Lord of Milan.-Life:He was born in Milan, the son of Stefano Visconti and Valentina Doria. From 1346 to 1349 he lived in exile, until he was called back by his uncle Giovanni Visconti...
). Mastino's son Cangrande II
Cangrande II della Scala
Cangrande II della Scala was Lord of Verona from 1351 until his death.In 1351, after the death of his father Mastino II della Scala, he inherited the lordship of Verona and Vicenza, initially under the regency of his uncle Antonio...
(1351–1359) was a cruel, dissolute, and suspicious tyrant; not trusting his own subjects, he surrounded himself with Brandenburg mercenaries. He was killed by his brother Cansignorio (1359–1375), who beautified the city with palaces, provided it with aqueducts and bridges, and founded the state treasury. He also killed his other brother, Paolo Alboino. Fratricide seems to have become a family custom, for Antonio (1375–87), Cansignorio's natural brother, slew his brother Bartolomeo, thereby arousing the indignation of the people, who deserted him when Gian Galeazzo Visconti
Gian Galeazzo Visconti
Gian Galeazzo Visconti , son of Galeazzo II Visconti and Bianca of Savoy, was the first Duke of Milan and ruled the late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance...
of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
made war on him. Having exhausted all his resources, he fled from Verona at midnight (19 October 1387), thus putting an end to the Scaliger domination, which, however, survived in its monuments.
The year 1387 is also the year of the famous Battle of Castagnaro
Battle of Castagnaro
The Battle of Castagnaro was fought on March 11, 1387 at Castagnaro between Verona and Padua. It is one of the most famous battles of the Italian condottieri age....
, between Giovanni Ordelaffi
Giovanni Ordelaffi
Giovanni Ordelaffi was a member of the noble family of Ordelaffi, the Lords of Forlì, in Italy, in the 14th and in the 15th centuries.Born in Forlì, he was a famous condottiero....
, for Verona, and John Hawkwood
John Hawkwood
Sir John Hawkwood was an English mercenary or condottiero who was active in 14th century Italy. The French chronicler Jean Froissart knew him as Jean Haccoude and Italians as Giovanni Acuto...
, for Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
, who was the winner.
Antonio's son Canfrancesco
Canfrancesco della Scala
Canfrancesco della Scala was the son of Antonio I della Scala. In 1387, when his father was defeated by the Visconti of Milan and fled to Ravenna, Canfrancesco remained behind and prepared to resist. However, his efforts failed, and he soon joined his father in exile in Ravenna. He tried to retake...
in vain attempted to recover Verona (1390).
Guglielmo (1404), natural son of Cangrande II, was more fortunate; with the support of the people, he drove out the Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
ese, but he died ten days after, and Verona then submitted to Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
(1405). The last representatives of the Scaligeri lived at the imperial court and repeatedly attempted to recover Verona by the aid of popular risings.
From 1508 to 1517 the city was in the power of the Emperor Maximilian I
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
. There were numerous outbreaks of the plague
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
, and in 1629–33 Italy was struck by its worst outbreak in modern times. In Verona an estimated 33,000 people (of a total of 54,000) died in 1630–1631.
Verona was occupied by Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
in 1797, but on Easter Monday
Easter Monday
Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday and is celebrated as a holiday in some largely Christian cultures, especially Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox cultures...
the populace rose and drove out the French. It was then that Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
made an end of the Venetian Republic
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
. Verona became Austrian territory when Napoleon signed the Treaty of Campo Formio
Treaty of Campo Formio
The Treaty of Campo Formio was signed on 18 October 1797 by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of revolutionary France and the Austrian monarchy...
in October, 1797. The Austrians took control of the city on January 18, 1798. It was taken from Austria by the Treaty of Pressburg
Peace of Pressburg
The Peace of Pressburg refers to four peace treaties concluded in Pressburg . The fourth Peace of Pressburg of 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars is the best-known.-First:...
in 1805 and became part of Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state founded in Northern Italy by Napoleon, fully influenced by revolutionary France, that ended with his defeat and fall.-Constitutional statutes:...
, but was returned to Austria following Napoleon's defeat in 1814, when it became part of the Austrian-held Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia
Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia
The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia was created at the Congress of Vienna, which recognised the House of Habsburg's rights to Lombardy and Venetia after the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed by Napoleon in 1805, had collapsed...
. In 1866, following the Six Weeks War, Verona, along with the rest of Venetia, became part of Italy.
In 1866, on the anniversary of the defeat of Königrätz
Battle of Königgrätz
The Battle of Königgrätz , also known as the Battle of Sadowa, Sadová, or Hradec Králové, was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War, in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire...
, the Austrians evacuated Verona, their strongest fortress in Venetia, which thus became Italian.
The advent of fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
added another dark chapter to the annals of Verona. As throughout Italy, the Jewish population was hit by the anti-Semitic laws (1938), and after the invasion by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
in 1943, deportations to Nazi concentration camps
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
. An Austrian Fort (now a church, the Santuario della Madonna di Lourdes), was used to incarcerate and torture allied troops
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
, Jews and anti-fascist
Anti-fascism
Anti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals, such as that of the resistance movements during World War II. The related term antifa derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism; it refers to individuals and groups on the left of the political...
suspects especially after 1943, when Verona became part of the Repubblica di Salò or "Social Republic
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic was a puppet state of Nazi Germany led by the "Duce of the Nation" and "Minister of Foreign Affairs" Benito Mussolini and his Republican Fascist Party. The RSI exercised nominal sovereignty in northern Italy but was largely dependent on the Wehrmacht to maintain control...
".
As in Austrian times, Verona became of great strategic importance to the regime. Galeazzo Ciano
Galeazzo Ciano
Gian Galeazzo Ciano, 2nd Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari was an Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Benito Mussolini's son-in-law. In early 1944 Count Ciano was shot by firing squad at the behest of his father-in-law, Mussolini under pressure from Nazi Germany.-Early life:Ciano was born in...
, Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
's son in law was accused of plotting against the republic during a mock trial
Mock trial
A Mock Trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisting of volunteers as role players to test theories or...
staged by the Nazi and fascist hierarchy in Castelvecchio
Castelvecchio Museum
Castelvecchio Museum is a museum in Verona, northern Italy, located in the eponymous medieval castle. Restoration by the architect Carlo Scarpa, between 1959 and 1973, has enhanced the appearance of the building and exhibits...
. Ciano was executed on the banks of the Adige with many other officers on what is today Via Colombo. This marked another turning point in the escalation of violence that would only end with the final liberation by allied troops and partisans in 1945.
After World War II, as Italy entered into NATO, Verona acquired once again its strategic importance, due to its closeness to the iron curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
. The city became the seat of SETAF (South European Allied Terrestrial Forces) and had during the whole duration of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
period a strong military presence, especially American, which is decreasing only in these recent years. Now Verona is an important and dynamic city, very active in terms of economy, and also a very important tourist attraction because of its history, where the Roman past lives side by side with the Middle Age Verona, which in some senses brings about its architectural and artistic motifs.
Mentions
The play Romeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
written by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
was based in Verona. One of Shakespeare's early comedies was titled The Two Gentlemen of Verona
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
The Two Gentlemen of Verona is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1590 or 1591. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as his first tentative steps in laying out some of the themes and tropes with which he would later deal in more...
.
Climate
Verona has a continental climate characteristic of Northern Italy's inland plains, with hot summers and cool, humid winters, even though Lake GardaLake Garda
Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. It is located in Northern Italy, about half-way between Brescia and Verona, and between Venice and Milan. Glaciers formed this alpine region at the end of the last ice age...
's quasi-Mediterranean climate
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
has a partial influence on the city. The relative humidity
Relative humidity
Relative humidity is a term used to describe the amount of water vapor in a mixture of air and water vapor. It is defined as the partial pressure of water vapor in the air-water mixture, given as a percentage of the saturated vapor pressure under those conditions...
is high throughout the year, especially in winter when it causes fog
Fog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
, mainly from dusk till late morning, although the phenomenon has become increasingly less frequent in recent years.
Demographics
In 2009, there were 265,368 people residing in Verona, located in the province of Verona, VenetoVeneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
, of whom 47.6% were male and 52.4% were female. Minors (children aged 0-17) totalled 16.05% of the population compared to pensioners who number 22.36%. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06%(minors) and 19.94%(pensioners). The average age of Verona residents is 43 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Verona grew by 3.05%, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.85%. The current birth rate
Birth rate
Crude birth rate is the nativity or childbirths per 1,000 people per year . Another word used interchangeably with "birth rate" is "natality". When the crude birth rate is subtracted from the crude death rate, it reveals the rate of natural increase...
of Verona is 9.24 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births.
As of 2009, 87% of the population was Italian. The largest immigrant group comes from other European nations (the largest coming from Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
): 3.60%, South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
: 2.03%, and sub-saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
1.50%. The city is predominantly Roman Catholic, but due to immigration now has some Orthodox Christian
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
, Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
and Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
followers.
Foreign residents by country of citizenship in 2008
| Group | % | Group | % | Group | % | Group | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romania Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea... |
24.5% | Morocco Morocco Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara... |
6.1% | Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... |
5.0% | Tunisia Tunisia Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area... |
2.4% |
| Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the... |
19.8% | Nigeria Nigeria Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in... |
5.7% | Ghana Ghana Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south... |
4.6% | ||
| Moldova Moldova Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part... |
7.7% | Albania Albania Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea... |
5.1% | People's Republic of China | 3.9% | ||
Main sights
- see also Buildings and structures in Verona
Because of the value and importance of its many historical buildings, Verona has been named a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
. Verona preserved many ancient Roman monuments, no longer in use, in the early Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
, but much of this and much of its early medieval edifices were destroyed or heavily damaged by the earthquake of 3 January 1117
Earthquake of 3 January 1117
A powerful earthquake on 3 January 1117 struck northern Italy and Germany, rated a VII on the Mercalli intensity scale. The epicentre of the first shock was near Verona, the city which suffered the most damage. The outer wall of the amphitheatre was partially felled, and the standing portion was...
, which led to a massive Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
rebuilding. The Carolingian period
Carolingian Renaissance
In the history of ideas the Carolingian Renaissance stands out as a period of intellectual and cultural revival in Europe occurring from the late eighth century, in the generation of Alcuin, to the 9th century, and the generation of Heiric of Auxerre, with the peak of the activities coordinated...
Versus de Verona
Versus de Verona
The Versus de Verona, also Carmen Pipinianum or Rhythmus Pipinianus , formed a medieval Latin poetic encomium on the city of Verona, composed during the Carolingian Renaissance, between 795 and 806. It was modelled on the Versum de Mediolano Civitate , which is preserved today only in a Veronese...
contains an important description of Verona in the early medieval era.
Roman edifices
The Roman militaryRoman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
settlement in what is now the centre of the city was to expand through the cardi
Cardo
The cardo was a north-south oriented street in Roman cities, military camps, and coloniae. The cardo, an integral component of city planning, was lined with shops and vendors, and served as a hub of economic life. The main cardo was called cardo maximus.Most Roman cities also had a Decumanus...
and decumani
Decumanus Maximus
In Roman city planning, a decumanus was an east-west-oriented road in a Roman city, castra , or colonia. The main decumanus was the Decumanus Maximus, which normally connected the Porta Praetoria to the Porta Decumana .This name comes from the fact that the via decumana or decimana In Roman city...
that intersect at right angles. This structure has been kept to the present day and is clearly visible from the air. Further development has not reshaped the original map. Though the Roman city with its basalt-paved roads is mostly hidden from view it stands virtually intact about 6 m below the surface. Most palazzi and houses have cellars built on Roman artifacts that are unfortunately rarely accessible to visitors. Piazza delle Erbe
Piazza delle Erbe
Piazza delle Erbe is a square in Verona, northern Italy. Once it was the town's forum during the time of the Roman Empire.-Description:The northern side of the square is occupied by the ancient town hall, the Torre dei Lamberti, the Casa dei Giudici and the Mazzanti Houses...
, near the Roman forum was rebuilt by Cangrande I
Cangrande I della Scala
Cangrande della Scala was an Italian nobleman, the most celebrated of the della Scala family which ruled Verona from 1277 until 1387. Now perhaps best known as the leading patron of the poet Dante Alighieri, Cangrande was in his own day chiefly acclaimed as a successful warrior and autocrat...
and Cansignorio della Scala I
Cansignorio della Scala
Cansignorio della Scala was Lord of Verona from 1359 until 1375, initially together with his brother Paolo Alboino.-Biography:...
, lords of Verona, using material (such as marble blocks and statues) from Roman spas and villas.
Verona is famous for its Roman amphitheatre
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
, the Arena
Verona Arena
The Verona Arena is a Roman amphitheatre in Piazza Bra in Verona, Italy, which is internationally famous for the large-scale opera performances given there. It is one of the best preserved ancient structures of its kind....
found in the city's largest piazza, the Piazza Bra
Piazza Bra
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...
. Completed around 30 AD, it is the third largest in Italy after Rome's Colosseum
Colosseum
The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre , is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire...
and the arena at Capua
Capua
Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now...
. It measures 139 metres long and 110 metres wide, and could seat some 25,000 spectators in its 44 tiers of marble seats. The ludi
Ludi
Ludi were public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people . Ludi were held in conjunction with, or sometimes as the major feature of, Roman religious festivals, and were also presented as part of the cult of state.The earliest ludi were horse races in the circus...
(shows and gladiator
Gladiator
A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
games) performed within its walls were so famous that they attracted spectators from far beyond the city. The current two-story façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
is actually the internal support for the tiers; only a fragment of the original outer perimeter wall in white and pink limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
from Valpolicella
Valpolicella
Valpolicella is a viticultural zone of the province of Verona, Italy, east of Lake Garda. The hilly agricultural and marble-quarrying region of small holdings north of the Adige is famous for wine production. Valpolicella ranks just after Chianti in total Italian Denominazione di Origine...
, with three stories remains.The interior is very impressive and is virtually intact, and has remained in use even today for public events, fairs, theatre and open-aired opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
during warm summer nights.
There is also a variety of other Roman monuments
Roman architecture
Ancient Roman architecture adopted certain aspects of Ancient Greek architecture, creating a new architectural style. The Romans were indebted to their Etruscan neighbors and forefathers who supplied them with a wealth of knowledge essential for future architectural solutions, such as hydraulics...
to be found in the town, such as the Roman theatre of Verona. This theatre was built in the 1st century BC, but through the ages had fallen in disuse and had been built upon to provide housing. In the 18th century Andrea Monga, a wealthy Veronese, bought all the houses that in time had been built over the theatre, demolished them, and saved the monument. Not far from it is the Ponte di Pietra ("Stone Wall Bridge"), another Roman landmark that has survived to this day.
The Arco dei Gavi
Arco dei Gavi
The Arco dei Gavi is an ancient structure in Verona, northern Italy. It was built by the gens Gavia, a noble Roman family who had their hometown in Verona, at the beginning of the Via Postumia, the Roman road leading to the city. During the Middle Ages it was used as a gate in the...
(Gavi Arch) was built in the 1st century AD, and is famous for having the name of the builder (architect Lucius Vitruvius Cordo
Lucius Vitruvius Cordo
Lucius Vitruvius Cordo was an ancient Roman architect active in Verona. His only known work is the Arco dei Gavi, a 1st century arch in the city, inscribed "Lucius Vitruvius Cerdo, a freedman of Lucius", which has led to Verona being suggested as the birthplace of the earlier and better-known...
ne) engraved on it, a really rare case in the architecture of the epoque. It originally straddled the main Roman road into the city, now the Corso Cavour. It had been demolished by the French troops in 1805 and was rebuilt in 1932.
Nearby is the Porta Borsari
Porta Borsari
Porta Borsari is an ancient Roman gate in Verona, northern Italy.It dates to the 1st century AD, though it was most likely built over a pre-existing gate from the 1st century BC. An inscription dating from emperor Gallienus' reign reports another reconstruction in 265 AD...
, an archway at the end of Corso Porta Borsari. This is the façade of a 3rd century gate in the original Roman city walls
Defensive wall
A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...
. The inscription is dated 245 AD and gives the city name as Colonia Verona Augusta. Corso Porta Borsari, the road passing through the gate is the original Via Sacra
Via Sacra
The Via Sacra was the main street of ancient Rome, leading from the top of the Capitoline Hill, through some of the most important religious sites of the Forum , to the Colosseum....
of the Roman city. Today, it is lined with several Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
palazzi
Palazzo
Palazzo, an Italian word meaning a large building , may refer to:-Buildings:*Palazzo, an Italian type of building**Palazzo style architecture, imitative of Italian palazzi...
and the ancient Church of SS. Apostoli (left), a few metres from Piazza delle Erbe.
Porta Leoni
Porta Leoni
Porta Leoni 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...
is the 1st century BC ruin of what was once part of the Roman city gate
City gate
A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. Other terms include port.-Uses:City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods and animals...
. A substantial portion is still standing as part of the wall of a medieval building. The street itself is an open archaeological site
Archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...
, and the remains of the original Roman street and gateway foundations can be seen a few feet below the present street level. As can be seen from there, the gate contains a small court guarded by towers. Here, carriages and travelers were inspected before entering or leaving the city.
Medieval architecture
The Basilica of San Zeno MaggioreBasilica di San Zeno
The Basilica di San Zeno is a religious building of Verona, Northern Italy. Its fame rests partly on its architecture and partly upon the tradition that its crypt was the place of the marriage of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Together with the abbey which forms an annex, it is dedicated to St....
is considered one of the great achievements of Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
. The present structure is the 3rd on this site, built from 1123–1135, over the 4th century shrine to Verona's patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
, St. Zeno
Zeno of Verona
Zeno of Verona was either an early Christian Bishop of Verona or martyr. He is a saint in the Roman Catholic Church and in Eastern Orthodox Church.-Life and historicity:...
(died 380). The façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
dominates the large square, and is flanked with a beautiful 72 metres tall bell tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
, which is mentioned by Dante
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
in Canto 18 of Purgatory in the Divine Comedy. The weathered Veronese stone gives a warm golden glow and the restrained lines of the pillars, columns, cornices and the gallery with its double windows give the façade an air of harmonious elegance. The huge rose window
Rose window
A Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architectural style and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery...
is decorated as a Wheel of Fortune. The lintels above the portal have carvings of the months of the year. Each side of the doorway is embellished with 18 bas-relief
Relief
Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
panels of biblical scenes, and the inner bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
door has panels have 48 primitive but forceful Biblical scenes and depictions from the life of St Zeno. The meaning of some of the scenes is now unknown, but the extraordinarily vivid, barbaric energy of the figures is a superb blend of traditional and Ottonian influences. The interior of the church is divided into a Lower Church, occupying about 2/3 of the structure, and the Upper Church, occupying the remainder. The walls are covered with 12th and 14th century fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
s and the ceiling of the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
is a magnificent example of a ship's keel ceiling. The vaulted crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
contains the tomb of St. Zeno
Zeno of Verona
Zeno of Verona was either an early Christian Bishop of Verona or martyr. He is a saint in the Roman Catholic Church and in Eastern Orthodox Church.-Life and historicity:...
, the first Bishop of Verona, as well as the tombs of several other saints. North of the church is a pleasant cloister. The church also houses the tomb of King Pippin of Italy (777–810).
The small Romanesque Basilica of San Lorenzo is one of the finest and most important in the city. Its dates from around 1177, but is built on the site of a Paleochristian
Early Christianity
Early Christianity is generally considered as Christianity before 325. The New Testament's Book of Acts and Epistle to the Galatians records that the first Christian community was centered in Jerusalem and its leaders included James, Peter and John....
church, some fragments of which remain. The church is built of alternating tracks of brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
and stone, and has two cylindrical towers, housing spiral staircases to the women's galleries. Inside, the atmosphere is rather severe, but is still quiet and peaceful. The striped bands of stone and brick and the graceful arches complement the setting.
With a span length of 48.7 m (159.78 ft), the 1356 completed segmental arch bridge
Arch bridge
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side...
Ponte Scaligero
Castelvecchio Bridge
The Castelvecchio Bridge or Scaliger Bridge is a fortified bridge in Verona, northern Italy, over the Adige River...
featured at the time the world's largest bridge arch.
Santa Maria Antica
Santa Maria Antica
Santa Maria Antica is a Roman Catholic church in Verona, Italy. The current church is Romanesque in style and dates to 1185, rebuilt after the earthquake of 1117 destroyed the original building that dated back to the end of the period of Lombard domination in the 7th century...
is a huge Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
church was the parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
of the Scaligeri clan, and is famous for the Gothic Scaliger Tombs
Scaliger Tombs
The Scaliger Tombs is 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....
. The Duomo
Verona Cathedral
Verona Cathedral is a church in Verona, northern Italy.It was erected after two Palaeo-Christian churches on the same site had been destroyed by an earthquake in 1117. Built in Romanesque style, the cathedral was consecrated on September 13, 1187...
is also a notable Romanesque church.
Sant'Anastasia is a huge and lofty church built from 1290–1481 by the Dominicans
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
to hold the massive congregations attracted by their rousing fundamentalist sermons. The Pellegrini chapel houses the famous fresco St. George and the Princess of Trebizond by Pisanello
Pisanello
Pisanello , known professionally as Antonio di Puccio Pisano or Antonio di Puccio da Cereto, also erroneously called Vittore Pisano by Giorgio Vasari, was one of the most distinguished painters of the early Italian Renaissance and Quattrocento...
as well as the grave of Wilhelm von Bibra
Wilhelm von Bibra
Wilhelm von Bibra was a Papal Emissary.-Papal Emissary:Wilhelm functioned as a Papal Emissary for both the archbishop of Cologne and Kaiser Friedrich. Wilhelm’s half brother, Prince Bishop Lorenz von Bibra of Würzburg, in 1487 wrote a letter of introduction to Pope Innocent VIII for Wilhelm who...
.
The famous square also holds its art festival in May.
Notable people
- Aleardo AleardiAleardo AleardiAleardo Aleardi , born Gaetano Maria, was an Italian poet who belonged to the so-called Neo-romanticists....
, a poet - Paolo BellasioPaolo BellasioPaolo Bellasio was an Italian composer and organist of the late Renaissance. He is generally considered to be a member of the Roman School, though unusually for the group he seems to have written only madrigals....
, composer of the Renaissance; member of the Roman SchoolRoman SchoolIn music history, the Roman School was a group of composers of predominantly church music, in Rome, during the 16th and 17th centuries, therefore spanning the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. The term also refers to the music they produced... - Damiano CunegoDamiano CunegoDamiano Cunego is an Italian professional road racing cyclist who rides for the Italian UCI ProTeam . His biggest wins are the 2004 Giro d'Italia, the 2008 Amstel Gold Race, and the Giro di Lombardia in 2004, 2007, 2008. He finished second in the UCI Road World Championships in 2008 and in the...
, former world number 1 cyclist and former Giro d'Italia winner - Girolamo FracastoroGirolamo FracastoroGirolamo Fracastoro was an Italian physician, poet, and scholar in mathematics, geography and astronomy. Fracastoro subscribed to the philosophy of atomism, and rejected appeals to hidden causes in scientific investigation....
, also known as Fracastorius, renowned scholar, physician and poet - Giovanni Francesco CarotoGiovanni Francesco CarotoGiovanni Francesco Caroto was an Italian painter of the Renaissanceactive mainly in his native city of Verona.He initially apprenticed under Liberale da Verona , a conservative painter infused with the style of Mantegna...
, painter - CatullusCatullusGaius Valerius Catullus was a Latin poet of the Republican period. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art.-Biography:...
, Latin poet - Franco DonatoniFranco DonatoniFranco Donatoni was an Italian composer.Born in Verona, he started studying violin at the age of seven, and frequented the local Music Academy...
, composer - Giovanni GiocondoGiovanni GiocondoFriar Giovanni Giocondo, O.F.M., was an Italian friar, architect, antiquary, archaeologist, and classical scholar.-Biography:...
, architect and scholar - Romano GuardiniRomano GuardiniRomano Guardini was a Catholic priest, author, and academic. He was one of the most important figures in Catholic intellectual life in 20th-century.- Life and work:...
, theologian - Marc' Antonio Ingegneri, composer, teacher of Claudio MonteverdiClaudio MonteverdiClaudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, gambist, and singer.Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two individual styles of composition – the...
- Cesare LombrosoCesare LombrosoCesare Lombroso, born Ezechia Marco Lombroso was an Italian criminologist and founder of the Italian School of Positivist Criminology. Lombroso rejected the established Classical School, which held that crime was a characteristic trait of human nature...
, criminologist - Scipione MaffeiFrancesco Scipione, marchese di MaffeiFrancesco Scipione, marchese di Maffei was an Italian writer and art critic, author of many articles and plays. An antiquarian with a humanist education whose publications on Etruscan antiquities stand as incunabula of Etruscology, he engaged in running skirmishes in print with his rival in the...
, writer and historian - Marcantonio Negri, Baroque composer, associate of Monteverdi
- St. Peter MartyrPeter of VeronaSaint Peter of Verona O.P. , also known as Saint Peter Martyr, was a 13th century Italian Catholic priest. He was a Dominican friar and a celebrated preacher...
, DominicanDominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
preacher and Saint. - Ippolito PindemonteIppolito PindemonteIppolito Pindemonte was an Italian poet. He was educated at the Collegio di San Carlo in Modena, but otherwise spent most of his life in Verona....
, poet - RatheriusRatheriusRatherius was a teacher, writer, and bishop. His political work led to his becoming an exile and a wanderer. He is also known as Rathier or Rather of Verona.-Biography:...
, Medieval bishop and writer - Vincenzo RuffoVincenzo RuffoVincenzo Ruffo was an Italian composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the composers most responsive to the musical reforms suggested by the Council of Trent, especially in his composition of masses, and as such was an influential member of the Counter-Reformation.Vincenzo Ruffo was born at...
, composer of the Renaissance - Emilio SalgariEmilio SalgariEmilio Salgari was an Italian writer of action adventure swashbucklers and a pioneer of science fiction.For over a century, his novels were mandatory reading for generations of youth eager for exotic adventures. In Italy, his extensive body of work was more widely read than that of Dante. Today...
, novelist - Antonio SalieriAntonio SalieriAntonio Salieri was a Venetian classical composer, conductor and teacher born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, but who spent his adult life and career as a faithful subject of the Habsburg monarchy....
, composer - Michele Sammicheli, architect
- Bartolomeo TromboncinoBartolomeo TromboncinoBartolomeo Tromboncino was an Italian composer of the middle Renaissance. He is mainly famous as a composer of frottola; he is principally infamous for murdering his wife...
, composer of the Renaissance period - Paolo CaliariPaolo VeronesePaolo Veronese was an Italian painter of the Renaissance in Venice, famous for paintings such as The Wedding at Cana and The Feast in the House of Levi...
, well known as "Veronese" painter - Carlo PedrottiCarlo PedrottiCarlo Pedrotti was an Italian conductor, administrator and composer, principally of opera. An associate of Giuseppe Verdi's, he also taught two internationally renowned Italian operatic tenors, Francesco Tamagno and Alessandro Bonci.-Early life:Pedrotti was born in Verona, where he studied music...
, 19th-century composer, conductor, voice teacher and opera administrator - Mario CapecchiMario CapecchiMario Renato Capecchi is an Italian-born American molecular geneticist and a co-winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering a method for introducing homologous recombination in mice employing embryonic stem cells, with Martin Evans and Oliver Smithies...
, Nobel prize in MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
, 2007 - Massimo BubolaMassimo BubolaMassimo Bubola is an Italian singer-songwriter, record producer and arranger.During his career, he cooperated with lot of Italian musicians in writing lyrics and musics, and his most significant cooperation was with Fabrizio De André...
, singer-songwriter born in TerrazzoTerrazzo, ItalyTerrazzo is a comune in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about 80 km southwest of Venice and about 45 km southeast of Verona... - Gigliola CinquettiGigliola CinquettiGigliola Cinquetti is an Italian singer, TV presenter and journalist.-Biography:At the age of 16 she won the Sanremo Music Festival in 1964 singing "Non ho l'età" , with music composed by Nicola Salerno and lyrics by Mario Panzeri...
, singer who brought Italy its first Eurovision Song ContestEurovision Song ContestThe Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
in 1964 - Walter ChiariWalter ChiariWalter Chiari, stage name of Walter Annichiarico , was a hugely successful Italian stage and screen actor, mostly in comedy roles....
, actor - Sara SimeoniSara SimeoniSara Simeoni is an Italian former high jumper, who won a gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics and twice set a world record in the women's high jump.-Biography:...
, former world high jumpHigh jumpThe high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
primatist and Olympic gold medalist - Matteo ManasseroMatteo ManasseroMatteo Manassero is an Italian professional golfer. He is the youngest golfer to win a European Tour event.Manassero was born in Negrar, in the Province of Verona. In 2009, at the age of 16, he became the youngest ever winner of the British Amateur Championship, defeating England's Sam Hutsby in...
, British amateur golf champion, 2009 - Stefano BernardiStefano BernardiStefano Bernardi , also known as "il Moretto", was an Italian priest, composer and music theorist...
, baroqueBaroque musicBaroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
composer - Romeo MontagueRomeo MontagueRomeo is one of the fictional protagonists in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is the son of old Montague and his wife, who secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet...
and Juliet CapuletJuliet CapuletJuliet is one of the title characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet, the other being Romeo. She is the daughter of old Capulet, head of the house of Capulet. The story has a long history that precedes Shakespeare himself....
, fictional characters from the Shakespearian play Romeo and Juliet
Verona was the birthplace of Catullus
Catullus
Gaius Valerius Catullus was a Latin poet of the Republican period. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art.-Biography:...
, and the town that Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
chose for relaxing stays. In its history many important names passed and events happened that were relevant for the European history, like Theodoric the Great
Theodoric the Great
Theodoric the Great was king of the Ostrogoths , ruler of Italy , regent of the Visigoths , and a viceroy of the Eastern Roman Empire...
, king of Ostrogoths, Alboin
Alboin
Alboin was king of the Lombards from about 560 until 572. During his reign the Lombards ended their migrations by settling in Italy, the northern part of which Alboin conquered between 569 and 572...
and Rosamunda, the Lombard
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
Dukes, Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
and Pippin of Italy, Berengar I
Berengar I of Italy
Berengar of Friuli was the Margrave of Friuli from 874 until no earlier than 890 and no later than 896, King of Italy from 887 until his death, and Holy Roman Emperor from 915 until his death.Berengar rose to become one of the most influential laymen in the empire of Charles the Fat before he...
, Dante
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
. Conclaves
Papal conclave
A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, who then becomes the Pope during a period of vacancy in the papal office. The Pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church...
were held here, as were important congresses. Verona was in the travel diaries of Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
, Stendhal
Stendhal
Marie-Henri Beyle , better known by his pen name Stendhal, was a 19th-century French writer. Known for his acute analysis of his characters' psychology, he is considered one of the earliest and foremost practitioners of realism in his two novels Le Rouge et le Noir and La Chartreuse de Parme...
and Paul Valéry
Paul Valéry
Ambroise-Paul-Toussaint-Jules Valéry was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. His interests were sufficiently broad that he can be classified as a polymath...
.
Sport
The town has two football teams. Historically, the city's major team has been Hellas VeronaHellas Verona F.C.
Hellas Verona Football Club is a professional Italian association football team, based in Verona, Veneto. The team's colours are yellow and blue and gialloblu is the team's most widely used nickname...
, who is now in the second division of Italian football
Football in Italy
Football is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italian national football team has won the FIFA World Cup 4 times , trailing only Brazil . Italy's club sides have won 27 major European trophies, making them the most successful European nation in the subject of football...
, Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
. The other team, Chievo Verona
A.C. ChievoVerona
Associazione Calcio Chievo Verona is a professional Italian football club named after and based in Chievo, a suburb of 2,800 inhabitants in Verona, Veneto, and owned by Paluani, a cake company and the inspiration for their original name, Paluani Chievo...
, is currently playing in Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
.
Hellas Verona won Italian Championship in 1984/1985 joining the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
the following year.
Verona has a volleyball major team named Marmi Lanza Verona, now in Serie A1; and a basketball team named Scaligera Basket, now in Legadue.
Verona has hosted the Football World Cup in 1990; has twice hosted the UCI Road World Championships
UCI Road World Championships
The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale...
, in 1999
1999 UCI Road World Championships
The 1999 UCI Road World Championships took place in Treviso and Verona, Italy, between October 3 and October 10, 1999. The event consisted of a road race and a time trial for men, women, men under 23, junior men and junior women.- Events summary :...
(co-hosted with Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...
) and 2004
2004 UCI Road World Championships
The 2004 UCI Road World Championships took place in Verona, Italy, between September 27 and October 3, 2004. The event consisted of a road race and a time trial for men, women, men under 23, junior men and junior women.- Events summary :...
.
Verona has also hosted the baseball world cup in 2009 and the Volleyball World Cup in September–October 2010.
Buses
Buses are operated by the provincial public transport company, Azienda Trasporti Verona (ATV).Railways
Verona lies at a major route crossing where the nouth-south rail line from the Brenner PassBrenner Pass
- Roadways :The motorway E45 leading from Innsbruck via Bolzano to Verona and Modena uses this pass, and is one of the most important north-south connections in Europe...
to Rome intersects with the east-west line between Milan and Venice, giving the city rail access to most of Europe. The city is, therefore, served by international, regional and local services.
Verona's main station is Verona Porta Nuova railway station
Verona Porta Nuova railway station
Verona Porta Nuova is the main railway station of the Italian city of Verona near the city centre in the square of Piazzale 25 Aprile. It was originally opened in 1852, but was substantially rebuilt between 1910 and 1922. It was rebuilt again between 1946 and 1949 after being largely destroyed by...
, to the south of the city centre. It is considered to be the ninth busiest railway station in Italy, handling approximately 68,000 passengers per day, or 25 million passengers per year.
There is a lesser station to the east of the city at Porta Vescovo, which used to be the main station in Verona, but now only receives trains between Venice and Porta Nuova.
Airport
Verona AirportVerona Airport
Verona Airport , also known as Valerio Catullo Villafranca Airport or simply Verona-Villafranca Airport is an airport located southwest of Verona, Italy...
is located 2.7 NM southwest of Verona. It handles around 3½ million passengers per year. It is linked to Porta Nuova railway station by a frequent bus service.
There are direct flights between Verona and Rome Fiumicino, Munich, Naples, Frankfurt, Catania, Paris Charles De Gaulle, London Gatwick, Palermo, Vienna Schwechat, and Cagliari among others.
Twin towns — Sister cities
Verona has several twin towns, sister cities and partnerships around the world. Some are thematic:Pula
Pula
Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, has a similar Roman amphitheatre
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
Nîmes
Nîmes
Nîmes is the capital of the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
, France, has a similar Roman amphitheatre
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany, shares with Verona the title of "twin portal to their country" Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, Austria, shares a common heritage of musical tradition Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
, Palestinian Authority Ra'anana
Ra'anana
Ra'anana is a city in the heart of the southern Sharon Plain of the Central District of Israel with a population of 68,300, . Ra'anana is bordered by Kfar Sava on the east and Herzliya on the southwest...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, since 1998 Mashhad
Mashhad
Mashhad , is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world. It is also the only major Iranian city with an Arabic name. It is located east of Tehran, at the center of the Razavi Khorasan Province close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
Ningbo
Ningbo
Ningbo is a seaport city of northeastern Zhejiang province, Eastern China. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, the municipality has a population of 7,605,700 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 3,089,180 in the built up area made of 6 urban districts. It lies south of the Hangzhou Bay,...
, China, the city where Chinese romantic tragedy, "Butterfly Lovers
Butterfly Lovers
The Butterfly Lovers is a Chinese legend of a tragic love story of a pair of lovers, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai , whose names form the title of the story...
" take place. Saint-Josse-ten-Noode
Saint-Josse-ten-Noode
Sint-Joost-ten-Node or Saint-Josse-ten-Noode is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium....
, Belgium
Košice
Košice
Košice is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, since 1992 Nagahama
Nagahama, Shiga
is a city located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan on the eastern shore of Lake Biwa. The city center was developed and renamed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi when Hideyoshi moved his center of administration from Odani Castle...
, Japan Fresno
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
, USA Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, USA Detmold
Detmold
Detmold is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of about 74,000. It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947...
, Germany Corfu
Corfu (city)
Corfu is a city and a former municipality on the island of Corfu, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Corfu, of which it is a municipal unit. It is the capital of the island and of the Corfu regional unit. The city also serves as a capital...
, Greece Korça
Korča
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, Albania
Albania
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Ayacucho
Ayacucho
Ayacucho is the capital city of Huamanga Province, Ayacucho Region, Peru.Ayacucho is famous for its 33 churches, which represent one for each year of Jesus's life. Ayacucho has large religious celebrations, especially during the Holy Week of Easter...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
Lecce
Lecce
Lecce is a historic city of 95,200 inhabitants in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Lecce, the second province in the region by population, as well as one of the most important cities of Puglia...
, Italy
External links
- The official website of Verona municipality
- The official website of the Academy of Verona
- The official website of the University of Verona
- The official website of Arena
- Verona tourism and free time
- Database of 4000 photos from Verona
- Photos from Verona
- A history of Verona, published 1910, by A. M. Allen. Edited by Edward Armstrong, with twenty illustrations and three maps, hosted by the University of North Texas Libraries Digital Collections
- UNESCO world heritage explication
- Verona Video Introduction
- Romeo and JulietRomeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
- Website and Guide of the city of Verona