A pictoral display--- see descriptions with the photos!
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| Look familiar?! It should... like, a replica of the Colosseum in Rome? Yes, very much the same... this is the Verona "Arena". Unfortunately this photo was the only semi-decent one I could get of it as it was almost entirely surrounded by fencing and construction materials. Some major renovations were going on, blocking the view of this magnificent structure. Apparently, it is even older than the Colosseum! I did NOT go inside because of the cost AND the long line to get in. |
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Yes, a little out of order here...but htis was the beautiful view of the countryside, on the pleasant train ride from Munich to Verona.
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A strange sculpture outside of the Verona train station!
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| At my suburban Airbnb, a 25 min. bus ride from the city center--the only even semi-reasonable accommodatoin to be found, typical of touristic cities. Still not cheap at about $50 per night, but at least fairly nice. This is the view off of my bedroom balcony. |
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| The pretty park in Piazza Bra, one of the two main centers of historical Verona. |
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| The opera house across from the Piazza. Lovely structure. I don't care for opera, but imagine even if I wanted to see a performance, they would be sold out for months ahead of time. It IS Italy--and Verona--after all!! |
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| Beautiful building housing some sort of museum on another side of the piazza. It was closed when I was there. |
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| Also in the piazza, there was a band competition of youngsters, which I listened to for awhile. Some of them were quite good! |
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| The city center was an old fortress, as is so often the case in European cities. This structure was part of the old wall...it is great that the Italians go to great lengths to preserve as much of the ancient buildings and other structures as they can! |
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| A castle--not sure of the name--liked this entrance, though! |
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| The inner courtyard. It also houses a museum--I did not go in. |
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| Not sure what this building was... just... well, old and beautiful! |
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| Lovely interior of a Romanesque church... |
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| Amazing Roman portal to the city center, dating back to around 50 B.C... the oldest Roman structure I have seen so far, and SO very well preserved! |
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Roman tombstone next to the portal... I overheard a tour guide explaining that it was for a 14 year old girl who died... and because it is an ancient relic, they didn't remove it, but just left it on the sidewalk, in the midst of outdoor cafe tables! Fabulous!!
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| Another angle of the magnificent Roman portal. |
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| Most of the streets looked like this, full of people, gorgeous old buildings on either sides, multiple-colored, layers of paint peeling, revealing brick and stone underneath. Some with balconies filled with flower boxes and pots...incredibly lovely. Really enjoyed ambling along, in random directions! |
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| Main city square-- the huge clock tower being a dead giveaway! |
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| And of course the requisite fountains! |
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| I liked this scene because of the rose-colored brick... |
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| You cannot read the plaque, but it says something to the effect that this is the "Juliet house"... or basically, the home of the Capuleti. And yes, there were really two aristocratic families called Montagues (in Italian "Montecchi") and Capulets (in Italian "Capuleti" or "Cappelletti"). This home, now a museum, dates back to the 1300's. The balcony you see above is presumably where Shakespeare got his inspiration for the famous scene... The enclosed courtyard below was swarmed with tourists! (Not many people paying the entrance fee to go into the museum, however... self included!) |
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| More interesting to me, as always: the variation of beautiful old architecture, especially where towers are part of it! (Old castle, perhaps?!) |
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And of course, my undying love of beautiful churches...
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| An interesting detail about this church is the fact that the wealthy family of the time (1500's, approx) saw fit to build elaborate tombs to their dead and plant them around the walls of the church. What entitlement, to be sure! |
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| I can never get over the variety of opulent, ornate, awe-inspiring structures... the massive gothic columns, high ceilings, elaborate ceiling and wall designs... just magnificent! |
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The Adige River, running through the city, as is typical of most of these medieval towns... they are adorned with many bridges, and banks are lined with beautiful buildings and no shortage of churches...
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A castle museum sits up high on the hill overlooking the river, but as it was quite hot, I did not make the climb up there.
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Each bridge crossing the Adige was beautiful and unique!
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Looking across the river at the massive and famous Verona Cathedral.
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| Before making my way over to the cathedral, though, I enjoyed a quiet time in this other, more remote, church first... |
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| Looking back at the serene church... apparently not visited because on the non-touristic side of the river. Other than some women working there, I was the only true visitor! Most unusual. |
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More colorful buildings lined the streets on my way to the cathedral...
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The famous Verona Cathedral from the front (entrance was on the backside). The rather unassuming front side does nothing to indicate the impressiveness of the interior, however...
I didn't pay the fee to go up its bell tower, but DID pay my 7 Euros to go inside, and was glad I did, even though I contend it is sacrilegious to have to pay to enter ANY church!!
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| The artwork inside of the cathedral rivaled that of St. Peter's in Rome, seemed to me... really QUITE awe-inspiring and impressive! (I run out of adjectives when it comes to describing the beauty of European cities... it is enough, I think, simply to gaze upon them and soak it all in!) |
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Back outside, still looking up with admiration...could easily live here, to be sure!!!
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I saw this in Rome as well: an excavation of Roman relics, opened up in the middle of a street or square, laid bare to the passersby. Fascinating!!! Wish I knew the story behind this one, but could not find anything about it anywhere I saw.
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And finally, after a long and satisfying day wandering about the city, I took the long bus ride back to my Airbnb. Even the suburbs have their charm in Italy... I really like how they paint houses in multipe colors like this! I also love how, since we just past the summer solstice, it stays light until about 9:30 in the evening...quite amazing!
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