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Verona More to see than what Shakespeare wrote about

The back streets of Verona

Stanley Moss goes beyond the façade of Verona and discovers gems in its back streets
photographed by Paula Sweet

Thanks to Mr Shakespeare, the world associates the city of Verona with star-crossed lovers and two famous gentlemen. There’s also the annual opera festival held mid-June through early September, which attracts crowds to the celebrated Roman arena. The arena dates back to the first century BC, a huge venue whose main gates were knocked down in an earthquake in 1117, while the interior survived. A trade centre since the third century BC, modern Verona now hosts a population of a quarter million. But there’s more to see than Juliet’s balcony, which is an instance where the legend lives on beyond the fact that the Montagues and Capulets had their castles an hour outside of town.

Instead, once you stray off the via Mazzini, Verona’s tony pedestrian shopping street with its collection of chic designer brands, another side to the city comes alive. History lingers in the lanes—was that Juliet’s ghost caught peeking out from the shutters above your head? Down at street level, quaint osterie stand ready for a pit stop, especially during the winter when the locals drop in for a quick nip, then dash back out into the bracing cold of the Veneto. You’ll stumble upon colourful produce sellers, stand-up espresso bars, trendy restaurants offering Slow Food. You can’t miss archæological remnants of Roman mosaics, Renaissance façades, or the ornate tombs of the Scaglieri who ruled the city for two hundred years. A block away from the River Adige, the ruins of Porta Leoni, as ancient as the arena, occupy a vaulted subterranean space below the road.

Verona hasn’t eradicated its past, just the contrary. On every side tradition remains, waiting to be seen. Photographers take note: the guide books don’t tell you, but Verona’s a feast for the eyes. •

For more features on Italy as a destination, visit www.italiantalks.com, where you’ll find other articles by Lucire’s Travel Editor, Stanley Moss.



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Stanley Moss is travel editor of Lucire.