Italy: Verona

April 2017

In Milford years, I had a friend for a couple of years, MV from Italy. Eventually, she tired of small town life and moved to the City. As it turns out, she was from Verona, but I knew her long before I visited her home town. Of course, many people love their hometowns, but she always said Verona was special in Italy. I thought to myself, one day I have to visit. She told a joke about meeting someone who was bragging how old their city was because the streets were made of original cobblestones. She replied: "In Verona, our streets are made of marble - from the Romans". ha!

She was right - the old streets of Verona are paved with huge slabs of marble.

Verona is at the edge of the Po River Plain - across the River Adige the land steeply rises to start the foothills of the Alps. Dating from even before Roman times, the city has a long history. Its Roman Arena is in such good condition that it is still used for operas and concerts. Its old town is medieval with a few Roman leftovers here and there. The city walls are mostly intact and across the Adige they climb up through the hills like Italy's version of the Great Wall. Verona has much to see (and it is compact and easy to walk), but I also used it as a base to visit Mantua, Padua, Treviso, Lake Garda, and the Dolomites. It is only an hour from Venice by fast train, too. In short, if I were to pick one city in northern Italy from which to explore, the ONLY choice would be Verona.

Like Bologna and Torino, it is a place I fell in love with. I would gladly return for a longer visit both to enjoy the city and all the great places nearby. The best part is that although Verona is famous and has tourists, it is not overrun. Veronese are not as "done" with tourists as Venetians (as well they should be), but there is enough tourist infrastructure to make it "easy".

As I had done in Bologna, at the end of day trips when I returned to the city early, I took late afternoon strolls. Verona was perfect for that - just so manageable and pedestrian friendly.

Thank God I knew MV in Milford. Without meeting her, I might have only given Verona a short day trip from elsewhere. Because she said it was so good, I stayed for a week and explored. It became one of my most enjoyable trips in Italy.