Verona

In Northern Italy, about halfway between Milan and Venice, sits the small town of Verona, a town made famous centuries ago by Shakespeare. Yes, William Shakespere! The one who was an English playwright, considered to be one of the greatest writers in the English language. “Three of William Shakespeare’s plays (Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew and The Two Gentlemen of Verona) are set in Verona. It is unknown whether Shakespeare ever visited the city.” – Wikipedia

While Romeo and Juliet are fictitious, the town has embraced the story and created places for visitors to imagine the story coming to life. “Some areas around the city are named in reference to the play, like the House of Juliet, the Grave of Juliet, the House of Romeo and the Tomb of Romeo.” – Wikipedia

We only made it to one of these areas, House of Juliet (Casa di Giuletta), to see “Juliet’s” balcony built in a 14th-century residence. The courtyard also has a statue of Juliet below the balcony (see photo above). House of Juliet is very popular and requires the purchase of an online ticket in advance (click here for link), however, entering the courtyard to see the balcony is free.

Keep in mind, this is a very popular attraction in town and can be very crowded during the day. We walked over to see Juliet’s balcony the afternoon we arrived in town. We found the tiny street very crowded and hard to walk through. It was sheer madness! We left and came back first thing the next morning. It was much calmer at opening time.

We were in town for less than 24 hours and decided to walk around seeing the sights on our own. One of the sights near the House of Juliet is the Torre dei Lamberti tower.

“The Torre dei Lamberti is an 84 m (275 ft) high tower in Verona, northern Italy. Construction of the tower began in 1172. In May 1403, the top of the tower was struck by lightning, but restoration works did not commence until 1448, lasting for 16 years. During this period, the tower was expanded, with the newer sections distinguishable today by their use of different materials, such as marble. The prominent clock was added in 1779.” – Wikipedia

Verona also has a “mini” Colosseum, similar to the one in Rome. “Completed around 30 AD, it (the Verona Arena) is the third-largest in Italy after Rome’s Colosseum and the Amphitheatre of Capua. It measures 139 meters (456 ft) long and 110 meters (360 ft) wide, and could seat some 25,000 spectators in its 44 tiers of marble seats. The Verona Arena is a Roman amphitheatre located in the historic center of Verona, Italy. It is among the best-preserved ancient amphitheatres to have survived into the modern era. This remarkable state of preservation is largely due to systematic restoration efforts that began in the 16th century. During the summer months, the Arena hosts the Arena di Verona Festival, with opera seasons that have run uninterrupted except by wars since 1913.” – Wikipedia

We were in Verona a few days after New Year’s Eve. A light show at the Arena was still on display and it was beautiful.

While we were Italy a cold front came through Europe and stayed around for awhile. We were a bit surprised at how cold it was – we had plenty of warm clothes, and it was January during a winter storm, but for some reason we thought it would be warmer down south in Italy. The cold became a theme during our trip. But it also made for some magical moments while we were there.

As we walked to the train station the next morning I captured this picture of the beautiful snow-capped Dolomites in the distance.

Our stay in Verona was very short but we never regret exploring a new place. And we’ve recently learned that Verona is the city scheduled to host the 2026 Winter Olympics closing ceremonies. So we’ll be looking forward to seeing views of this city again.

Next stop, the magical city of Venice.