Verona, Italy: The setting of one of the famous romantic legends

By: Patricia Sendra

"It was here where the beautiful Juliet heard the declaration of the love of her Romeo" the tour guide explained while the dozens of tourists squeezed into the small interior garden. We looked upwards, and saw a rather the rather tiny stone balcony with arched cutouts in its sides.  The young Italian guide continued recounting the story we all knew so well but still found so captivating. A few sighs were even heard amongst the crowd as those legendary words were said. We were in Verona, the City of Love.

This is the city where the legend of the famous lovers was born. And even after centuries, the legend still persists. In this interior patio, some visitors scrawl random declarations of love like graffiti on the wall. Others follow the tradition of rubbing the bronze statue of Juliet, believing it will bring them luck in finding their 'true' love. And Verona looks to oblige them all, offering walking tours including sites such as this one, Juliet's home, as well as Romeo's home, their wedding church and even Juliet's tomb, the scene of the tragic end of the story.

The only small noteworthy detail is that Romeo & Juliet apparently never existed. The story of the star-crossed lovers has been traditionally attributed to William Shakespeare, the English playwright, but it has been said that it was the fruit of the imagination of ancient Italian writers. Although it is thought to be based on two real Veronese families, that appears to be the only authentic element. The characters, the events and the aforementioned sites are pure fiction.  Centuries later, however, Verona adopted the protagonists, converting them into local figures and the story took a life of of its own. And like that, it has turned into an entertaining stop in a tour of the region.

I returned to Verona on another occasion, as part of a grand escorted excursion through Italy. The guide, of course, took us directly to the Juliet's house. Since I was well-acquainted with the balcony, (with its image well preserved in my previous trip photographs), I decided instead to get to know more in depth this picturesque city, situated on the banks of the Adige river.

I asked her directions on how to get to the famous Roman amphitheater. She responded that it would be impossible for us to do so due to the distance and our short stay in this city and stated she had no other suggestions for places to see on our own. Being slightly rebellious tourists, we still abandoned the group, deciding to just ramble through the city's narrow medieval streets in the allotted time. We were happily well rewarded-we discovered that apart from the famous legend, Verona was a jewel full of ancient monuments, elegant architecture and impressive history.

We quickly found ourselves in one its most famous plazas, the Piazza delle Erbe. Full of picturesque kiosks & stalls, this is the site of an interesting open air market. But the mercantile activity tends to hide the beauty of the buildings that surround the plaza. Many of these medieval buildings still retain their colorful frescoed facades with their brilliant colors. Even more interestingly, you can still glimpse vestiges of the ancient Roman forum around the plaza.

We continued strolling, at an even but slow pace, enjoying Verona’s medieval churches with glimpses of its Renaissance buildings and magnificent palaces along the way. Half an hour later, after all our exploration, we found ourselves in another important plaza of Verona, Piazza Bra. And what surprising building did we find there? Well, the piazza is the home of the famous amphitheater, the very one that supposedly we could not possibly reach during our afternoon visit!

The amphitheater, more popularly known as the Arena, was built in the 1st century AD and is surprisingly very well preserved, having even survived an earthquake during its history. In fact, it is the most important monuments of the city, and one of the most representative buildings of the ancient Roman era, outside of Rome itself. The Arena remains in use to this day, primarily as a venue for opera and other theatrical spectacles. Other structures dating back to that era found in Verona include bridges, arches, city gates, and a Roman theater.

We had a short visit of the amphitheater and still had ample time to rejoin the group. So, what did I learn from this experience? First and foremost, that one should not trust one's tour director blindly in regards to the historical facts, possible excursions and (certainly not) directions.  Pre-trip research goes a long way as well as a little knowledge of history of the cities and villages that you plan to visit. If not, you run the risk of missing the more important monuments of a city or getting a feel for its sites & sounds. In the case of Verona, it is involves straying from the popular Romeo & Juliet tour stops. But, on the other hand, I also learned it doesn't hurt to get lost in the myths and legends of the past.  For what is traveling, if not to escape reality? In the case of Verona, it is all about a passionate legend of love. And today, on Valentine's Day, isn't it important to believe in the magic of love?

Additional data:

·         Transportation: Verona is accessible by plane (Catullo Airport), train and/or auto & bus service from Venice or Milan (+ 2 hours). The historic center is closed to traffic but it is compact and easy to explore on foot.

·         Shopping: Via Mazzini, a pedestrian street is known for the high end fashion houses. Corso Portoni Borsari, Via Roma, Via Cappello, and Piazza delle Erbe are other popular shopping areas. Some stores (and most churches) still close from noon until late afternoon.

·         Gastronomy: Specialties include the gnocchi; peperate (boiled beef with 'peara' a pepper sauce with cheese sauce); rice pilota (with pork); bigoli (spaghetti with sardines) and seafood (especially trout) due to its proximity to Lake Garda.

·         Events: The Arena offers opera, ballet and symphony performances (tickets at www.arena.it) and the Roman Theater offers a Shakespeare festival, during the summer.

·         Curiosities:

o   The supposed tomb of Juliet , according the tragic conclusion of the story is located in ancient convent (San Francesco al Corso) and ironically the convent is a sought-after location for civil weddings.

o   The tragic love story so inspires the lovelorn that 'Juliet' receives letters from all over the world. Since the 1930's or so, volunteers have been answering the letters and even formed an organization known as Juliet's Club.   This was the inspiration for the recent movie, Letters to Juliet. 

o   Verona is also the city that inspired another important literary work, the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri. One can admire a statue dedicated to the epic poet in another one of the city's plazas, the piazza dei Signori.