That's right, this weekend we headed to Verona. Let me say this, it is a beautiful town and I am so happy we took the time to go. It's located about 40 minutes from Camisano. As you near the town, you can see the remnants of the old city walls built in the late 1600s and the accompanying moat that surrounded the city. I have never seen a moat like this, it was massive. Then we saw the old city gate as well. That was massive and very ornate. We finally crossed one the many bridges that cross over the Fiume Adige, a water way that runs along the city. As we stepped out of the car and looked towards the water, you could see the Teatro Romano on the other side, it's expansive treeline and ornate building up high on the hill. I hope to go there someday! We began to wander through the city and stepped in to one of the several churches located there. When i walked into the church, it was as if Leonardo himself had painted the church. The ceilings had several hand painted pictures of various saints and people. The stain glass on the windows was unlike any that I had ever seen and the whole design of the church was as if I had stepped back in time to a medieval time period. It was breathtaking, and absolutely solemn at the same time.
As we stepped back out on to the streets of Verona, we made a quick decision on the places I wanted to see. (Hey we agreed this was something I wanted to do, even if it meant dragging the family with me.) First in my mind was the house of Juliet. I kept thinking back to the movie Letters to Juliet so I could imagine what the place looked like. I remembered it was a courtyard right off the streets but that was about it. As we walked into the courtyard, throngs of people had made the same pilgrimage. they were milling around, taking photos and standing next to Juliet's statue rubbing her breast. (I thought this was rather strange, feeling up a statue, but as I later read in the book I purchased, if you rub her breast it is supposed to bring you luck. Perhaps i should have rubbed it but then again, Juliet's luck wasn't all that great. She died at 14.) We bought our tickets to get in inside. If you go let me say this, you can purchase a 2 day or 4 day ticket called the Verona pass. This ticket helps to defer some of the costs for the attractions. The pass itself for two days was only 15 euros and the kids, did not need one. One accompanied us on one pass and the other child was free. So take advantage of this tidbit. Now this house was owned by the Capello family and has since been sectioned off and changed hands several times. When the city purchased the house, it was in such disrepair. They brought back to like some of the wall decorations, revamped and cleaned out the inside of the house, brought in period clothing, replicated furniture and pottery, and made a modern Letters to Juliet section, complete with 4 computer stations so you can write to "Juliet". And if you saw the movie, you remember that there are ladies in the village who have taken up writing the responses from Juliet. My girls and i ventured onto Juliet's balcony and took our turn at a photo op on the beloved balcony. Although my oldest complained alot, i am sure that when she gets into high school one day and reads about Romeo and Juliet, she will become much more appreciative of her experience.
After visiting Juliet's house, I wanted to see her tomb. This however was clear on the other side of town, far away from her house. So that little trek took us a bit. In the meantime, and on the way, we saw some street performers, had lunch at a little cafe (which had a great grilled vegetable and cheese panini), and found the Arena of Verona. The Arena was another fascinating location my husband and i agreed on visiting. this place was HUGE! The original Arena still stands today and is a functioning opera house. The steps were made of stone and marble and as we walked up to the top of the arena, I began to wonder if we would be able to make it back down. The steps were like elephant sized steps, my youngest almost had to crawl over them to climb them. My short stature didn't help me any either. And did I mention there was not a handrail at all? I prefer handrails because I always feel safer with one, otherwise I just imagine myself toppling down, head over heal and that is not a pretty sight! After the Arena, we continued on our long journey to Juliet's tomb. We got lost a couple of times and finally, after a hour of walking (it might have been shorter but I doubt it), we located this girl's tomb. It's inside a museum but outside the museum is a metallic sign post in the shape of a flag that tells you you're at Tomba di Guillette.The courtyard had some quotes from the play and a bust of William Shakespeare. As we traveled through the museum, and tried not to be mesmerized by the beautiful paintings, we located a tiny sign leading us to Juliet's tomb, which was located outside, in the garden, and down some steps. The entry to her tomb was surrounded by another line from Shakespeare, a wall depicting the picture story of Romeo and Juliet, and these ornate stone sculptures on the walls. Inside the tomb area was the main room, where the other family crypts would have been and then there was Juliet's tomb. many of the wall were defaced, much like those in Juliet's courtyard, by the many visitors over the years. Nonetheless, I was happy we made it there and got to see this piece of "history".
After the tomb, we were tired and just wanted to go home, but we still had to walk back to the car. As luck would have it, Romeo's house was on the way back. Now his house is just marked by a sign, a rather sad sign at that, but we did find it. More intriguing down the street were the Scalergi tombs. According to wikipedia, it is a group of five Gothic funerary monuments in Verona, Italy, celebrating the Scaliger family, who ruled in Verona from the 13th to the late 14th century. These tombs were very ornate and massive and the family had a strange habit of naming each other after dogs. One was name Cangrande (big dog), another was Cansignorio (Mr dog) and still another Mastino. To each his own I suppose.
Verona itself is wrought with church after church after church. Each one more impressive than the last one. Some of the more notable churches included San Fermo Maggiore, Basilica of San Zeno, Duomo Cathedral and the Church of St Anastasia. If you get to Verona, you need to see the churches. Another great place was Erbe Square. Lots of vendors and eateries are located here and the square is home to Lamberti tower, one of the largest clock towers in Italy. Additionally, in the middle of the square is a stockade like structure with one chain for a head. Weird but effective on crime I bet. Hanging from an archway is a large whale bone. Legend says that if a righteous man walks underneath the bone, it will fall. Nothing happened the day we walked under it, and fortunately, the bone has never
fallen during the centuries of people, including several popes,
parading beneath it. Wouldn't this defeat the purpose of being "just" if you were killed by a whale bone that just happened to fall on you because you were righteous. But I do wonder, do you get a prize, like Excaliber?
Verona has history, there is no doubting it. The old city walls and moat surrounding the city remind you of its colorful past as do the half old, half rebuilt/new bridges allowing you access to the city. It's deep, rich culture, stories and history let you know that even though the city itself may be old, the town still lives on.
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