Enter the land of the greatest love story in Shakespearean terrain. If it is unfulfilled love you seek , you have come to the patron saint. Romeo and Juliet supposedly played in their lives in 3 romantic Acts in this land and you can join millions in paying tribute -if only to rub on Juliet's painting.
Much of the settings are gone .What remains is the diligent efforts of the townspeople to still the clock. Its renaissance glory permeates into every brick as you tour this city of splendorous medieval palazzo, towers, churches and stage like piazzas.
The attractions in your travel to Verona are many.
Arche Scalegeri (Scalegri Tombs)
Dog lovers rejoice, if you thought your canine should be lavished with luxuries, you have come face to face with a kinder spirit. The dog obsessed Scaligeri family built these tombs as ultimate funerary tribute to this departed quadrupeds. The raised out door tombs infact ritualized their contention for equal rights for dogs -in a lavish life style as well as death. Mastino I, Mastino II and Cansignorio their beloved dogs have been entombed in magnificence fit for their titles and affections. Not surprisingly, on the tomb of Cangrande I we see the Scaligeri coat of arms and the ladder symbolic of the bestowal of high honors.
Arena di Verona
The pink marble structure may be a distant second to Rome's Colosseum, but it's far better preserved. In its heyday, 2000 people congregated here to hear speeches, watch opera or big gladiatorial contests. The acoustics can do any modern concert hall proud. No microphones are needed and watching an Italian opera in this setting is a sublime experience.
Basilica San Zeno Maggiore
The church dedicated to city's patron saint is perhaps the best example of Roman architecture. It certainly is the most popular. Most of the local populace flocks here for succor, hope and thanks giving. The architects seem to have known this long ago. Accordingly they have built two pillars supported by marble doors on the outside. The doors were probably first ever castings in bronze and bronze since Roman antiquity. Even when the doors are closed crowds could learn from the illustrated scenes from the old and new testaments on the façade. The rose window Ruota Della Fortuna (Wheel of Fortune) is more sublime but equally illuminating. The cavernous interiors are filled with 12th- to 14th-century frescoes and crowned by the nave's ceiling, designed as a wooden ship's keel. Don't miss the Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints by Andrea Mantegna (1459),
Basilica di Sant'Anastasia
The largest church is done in Gothic style and is remarkable even with an unfinished façade. The 14th campanile bell tower allures with its frescos and sculptures. The interiors also follow the gothic pattern and are marked by two famous gobbi (hunchbacks) that support the holy-water fonts, an impressive patterned pavement, and 16 side chapels containing a number of noteworthy paintings and frescoes from the 15th and 16th centuries.
The chapels at the side are also adorned with frescos and paintings. Feast your eyes on Pisanello's St. George Freeing the Princess of Trebisonda
Casa di Giulietta (Juliet's House)
The story may be apocryphal and the house an invention. But Juliet- worshiping continues regardless. The simple courtyard and the sidewalks are the place to visit for the worshippers of cupid. Quotations from Shakespeare form the graffiti filled background for the simple interiors replete with ceramics and furniture. The balcony was added to the palazzo much later.
Teatro Romano (Roman Theater) and the Museo Archeologico (Archaeological Museum)
It is the original Roman theatre and is the oldest monument in Verona. It can still transport you back in time when the lights are switched on, the dialogues flow as actors etch out the lines. Romeo and Juliet at the theatre is an experience of another kind.