Ibn Battuta, a man who is considered as one of the greatest travellers of all time, once said, “Travelling- it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” This quote basically expresses the exact effect travelling has on us and that is why today we decided to share with you a few experiences about our latest trip to Verona, the jewel of North Italy. Verona is also known as the city of love or ‘la città dell’amore’, considering Shakespeare chose it as his setting for his greatest tragedy, ‘Romeo and Juilet’.
In fact, a must-see attraction in Verona is ‘La Casa di Giuletta’, which greets you with a wall covered in ink written by people from all over the world as a memory of their presence there. One can even find small letters attached to the wall by lovers as a vow to each other. As soon as you enter the small courtyard you can enjoy a view of the world’s most famous balcony and a bronze statue of Juilet. Legend has it that if you touch Juilet’s right breast, luck will come to you in finding your true love.
A few steps away from Juilet’s House lies the outstanding Piazza Erbe where one can find the old town hall, the ‘Torre dei Lamberti’ and the beautiful ‘Mazzanti Houses’ with frescoed walls. The square is occupied by several restaurants and a market selling all kinds of souvenirs, clothing and quick nibbles.
An even greater and more beautiful square in Verona is Piazza Bra which boasts the breath-taking ‘Arena Di Verona’, built back in the 1st century, and is nowadays considered as the heart of Opera music. We were lucky enough to experience our second Il Volo’s concert in this same arena, which was so jam-packed with people that we only managed to find a seat on the penultimate step of the arena from the top. Thus, you can imagine the overwhelming emotions we went through while the boys sang their heart out to brilliant Italian music, especially during ‘Ancora’ when the audience was asked to turn on flashlights which led to the arena transforming into a sky full of stars.
Considering this was the last concert of Il Volo’s ‘Grande Amore Tour’, it constituted of several special guests including Lorenzo Fragola, Francesco Renga, Francesco Degregori, MalinComici (Il Volo imitators) as well as Giancarlo Giannini as the narrator and Carlo Conti as the presenter of this magical night. To help you imagine the grandeur of this concert, it was also filmed by Rai and shown on TV two days later.
Being the kind of girls who mainly look for culture and history when travelling, this holiday would not have been complete if we failed to visit well-known castles in this area. First on the list was ‘Piazzale Castel San Pietro’, which is not far from the centre so one can go on foot. However, to reach this attraction one needs to climb over a hundred steps. Nevertheless, once you reach the top, you will definitely be rewarded with a spectacular, since you can see the old town, with the brown rooftops beneath you, literally leaving you breathless!
A similiar attraction nearby with another panaromic view happens to be the Renaissance garden, ‘Giardino Giusti’. This is known as the ‘Heaven of Verona’ and thus, it is a place which must definitely be on your ‘to-do’ list if you happen to be in this area. It is the ideal place after a busy day of walking, as it is nothing but peaceful and refreshing. Something fun to try here is entering the maze…and hopefully, you manage to get out of it before the garden closes!
Yet another castle which any history enthusiast would certainly appreciate is ‘CastelVecchio’. Unfortunately, we only managed to get to it in the evening, at which point it was closed and we could not walk through the bridge or enter the museum, which is a pity as the museum is full of medieval, Renaissance and even Roman art together with medieval weaponry. It was still a spectacular sight though, as the bridge and the castle were lit so beautifully.
Clearly, all these charming places will be hard to forget, however, we decided to save the best for last – the picturesque peninsula of Sirmione in Lake Garda. Sirmione is actually a comune in the province of Brescia, however, it is not that far from Verona’s city centre. It is one of the most popular ‘sights’ in Lake Garda. In fact, it was flooded with tourists when we visited. Yet again, the main landmark here is the ‘Scaliger Castle’, which differs from other typical castles as this is a fortification surrounded by water. Again, don’t forget your camera if you’re planning to go there, since you can see the quaint city beneath you, full of attractive gelatarias and pizzerias. Here, we tasted the famous Italian aperitif, ‘Aperol Spritz’. In fact, it is mandatory to take this drink as it actually originated in this very region of Veneto. It was such a pleasant place to chill in and we really would not have minded staying there all day sipping this mouth-watering cocktail.
Being three girls in Verona resulted into a massive shopping experience. The pinnacle of shopping heaven in Verona is Via Mazzini, a long street filled with clothes shops. The shops range from Louis Vuitton, Armani and Dolce & Gabbana to more affordable stores, such as Zara and Stradivarius, amongst many others. One can also find a lot of cosmetic shops such as the famous MAC, Sephora and local organic cosmetic lines. There is also a huge Disney store where the bright colours of the soft toys and the Minnie and Mickey statues urge you to enter the shop. On our last day in Italy, we decided to go to a shopping mall in the region of Veneto known as ‘Le Corti Veneto Centro Commerciale’. Visiting this mall is a good idea as it is only about ten minutes away from the heart of the city.
When in Italy, do as the Italians do. Our diet in our few days in Verona consisted mainly of pizza and pasta, and we are not even guilty about it (sorry Camp Fitness). Without a doubt, the food in Verona is incredible. Eating at Piazza Bra is highly recommended, as one can enjoy the stunning view of the arena whilst sipping the city’s Prosecco. For those who have a sweet tooth, Verona does not disappoint neither since in every corner, you will come across bakeries selling all kinds of pastries and needless to say, you cannot leave Verona before trying one of their delicious gelatos!
Unfortunately, every beginning has an ending, and only a few days have passed since we left Verona, yet we already want to go back. But Italy has so much more to offer and we would not mind choosing it as our next destination once again…who knows, maybe Milan or Firenze will be up next?
Il Volo’s concert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v87l_bH5toQ
