A Weekend in Verona - Juliet’s House, the Adige River and Historic Churches

Hello dear friends. Our trip to Verona began at the Santa Maria Novella station in Florence, in a very crowded place. I was happy because I was finally fulfilling a long-time dream. Together with my mother, we set out to see the Arena di Verona, the third largest amphitheater in Italy and to listen to an opera there. We were going to watch Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Nabucco. That was our main purpose, of course. But since we were already there, we also visited the most beautiful places in the city and explored a lot. Getting from Florence to Verona isn’t far. It only takes about an hour and a half by high-speed train. We set off on Saturday morning. At the end of our journey on the red train, we arrived in Verona. As soon as we got off, we noticed that it was much cooler here compared to Florence. There was a queue at the taxi stand. After waiting for a while, we headed to the hotel where we would be staying.

Verona is located in the Veneto region in northern Italy. It is one of the largest cities in the region and has a rich history that goes back centuries. It was founded by the Romans in the 4th century BCE. Now it is one of the biggest tourist centers in Italy. Of course, people primarily come here to follow the traces of Shakespeare, since the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet takes place here. However, Verona offers tourist attractions for every taste: archaeological remains from the Roman Empire, medieval monuments and works of art from the Renaissance. Verona is also famous for its festivals and exhibitions. For example: the largest wine festival Vinitaly, is held here. Every summer there is an opera festival for opera lovers. In autumn there is Fieracavalli, a Europe-wide equestrian exhibition. In short, you will never get bored in Verona.

We checked into our hotel. This time our stop was the four-star Hotel Accademia. The hotel is very elegantly decorated. The interiors are very pleasant. They are classic but without that old, worn-out dusty feeling. Instead there is a stylish and balanced sense of antiquity. The bedroom was very spacious. There was even a small dressing room. It was a wonderful place to stay for a few days. The bathroom was also very large. It had both a shower cabin and a bathtub. Slippers, bathrobes, toiletries… Overall, the hotel offers a service that is worth its star rating and price. The room windows overlook the inner courtyard. The hotel also has a terrace and in the lobby a welcome drink is served to all guests until 5:00 pm. While checking in, we saw tourists taking their drinks up to the terrace and we did the same as soon as we settled in.

After that, we went down to the lobby. This is a thematic hotel. Everything is related to the Arena di Verona. The lobby hall is dedicated to a tenor opera singer. I am not very knowledgeable about opera, but my mother acted as my guide and kept informing me. The hotel is located in a historic palace called Palazzo Bonifacio Tedeschi. In the booklet, the history of the building and what it looked like in the past were described.

Since we had come all the way here, we couldn’t miss visiting the courtyard of Juliet’s House. The courtyard is very charming, but you need to buy a ticket to go up to the balcony. On the walls here, you can write letters to Juliet and people also stick chewing gum as a symbol of love. We had previously been in Verona with a guide and we had a really great one.

We discovered that one member of our team, my mother, might have lived in Verona in a previous life. Normally my mother can’t easily find her way in the winding streets of cities, but here she seemed to know every corner by heart. "The river is over there" she said, so there was no need to check Google maps. Did you know that the river in Verona is called the Adige? The Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige also takes its name from the upper parts of this river, while Verona lies further downstream. The bridge was completely covered with boards. Anyway, now I want to move to Verona. On my previous trip I wanted to move to Parma. Now it’s here.

Because of the heat, our walk was short. For lunch we went to one of the two restaurants I had my eye on for dinner: Vecio Mulin. We sat by the river and it was very pleasant.

After lunch we visited the churches of San Pietro Martire and Saint Anastasia. The two churches are next to each other. Entrance to these churches requires a fee. Only Saint Anastasia costs 4 euros, while a ticket covering four major churches costs 8 euros. The knightly tombs right at the entrance of San Pietro Martire transported us to the mysterious atmosphere of the Middle Ages even before we stepped inside. According to local belief, the famous hunchback statues inside the Church of Saint Anastasia bring good luck to those who touch them. Even if your time is limited, it is absolutely worth paying the 4 euro entrance fee just to see the magnificent floral motifs on the ceiling of this church.

Then we stopped by the Verona Cathedral (Duomo di Verona). The first things that greeted us were the massive griffin statues at its entrance. The cathedral was rebuilt after the great earthquake of 1117. Its unique character combines Romanesque and Gothic styles, which makes it very impressive. Inside, the columns made of red Verona marble and the high arches reaching toward the sky make you feel as if you have stepped into a completely different world.

After visiting the cathedral, we returned to our hotel. New adventures in Verona were waiting for us the next day. I will share them with you later. Thank you for reading.