My trip to Verona

Another one of the beautiful cities that I was lucky enough to visit was Verona. The city is full of many stunning and historical buildings and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After stopping for a gorgeous hot chocolate and a slice of cake, I made my way into the heart of the city, the Piazza Bra, which is home to a Roman amphitheatre, the Arena.

I paid to visit the inside of the Arena and certainly wasn’t disappointed. The inside is immense and you can really imagine all the spectators filling the seats while watching gladiators fight in the centre. When you walk up to the top of the Arena, the views out onto the Piazza and the surrounding buildings is truly breath-taking so it’s well worth a visit! Also within the Piazza is a garden shaded by cedar and pine trees which surrounds the Fountain of the Alps and a bronze statue of Victor Emmanuel II. There were also many stalls on show selling various foodstuffs, clothes, jewellery and handicrafts which were very charming and fun to browse.

Because we visited in December, to salute the arrival of Christmas, a gigantic white iron Comet Star symbolizing the one that indicated the three wise men the place where Jesus was born, is erected in the Bra square, its tail stretching over the Arena. It was built as a temporary structure for the first edition of Christmas crib exhibition in 1984, but due to the enormous success, it was decided to re-build it every year and is now the most important symbol of Christmas in Verona.

After this, I took a walk over to Casa di Giulietta, also known as Juliet’s House. The house was owned by the family dell Capello, and dates from the 13th century. The family coat of arms can still be seen on the wall and despite the balcony not being added until the 20th century, this hasn’t stopped tourists from standing on in and looking out onto the courtyard for their Romeo! Inside the house is a small and interesting museum but the many love notes written, stuck and padlocked on the walls and doors in the entrance to the courtyard is quite astonishing.

I then started to stroll around and take in what the rest of the city had to offer before it started to get dark and I stumbled upon a Christmas Market at the Piazza dei Signori! It was full of little wooden huts selling both German and Italian goods so I sampled some of the free foods and stopped for a quick beer before starting to head out of the city to catch my train. Even the walk back was beautiful as I walked along the River Adige at night with all the lights dancing on the surface of the water. So if you’re thinking of visiting Verona you definitely should, especially around Christmas!

Thanks for reading,

Kristie