Verona, Italy
Until recently, my knowledge of Verona was limited purely to the many hours as a teenager being forced to study Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Any beauty in the city that could have been imagined was always tempered by the adolescent resentment of the schoolwork.
To visit Verona as an adult and be free of burden of essays and exams felt like discovering it anew. In tribute, it felt like a prologue of that experience was necessary.
Two hours spent, both a like of the city
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From school begrudge break to new scrutiny,
Where civilian eyes makes civic lands unseen.
From forth the fatal lines that once were foes
A place of stars, crosses and love brings new life;
And Verona adventure overthrows
That feel of death buried under study’s strife.
The near-full passages flow free with mark’d love,
And the ancient buildings show a romance age,
Which, but the tourist crowd, nought could remove,
Is now the two hours’ sightsee of this stage;
The which if you with patient eyes attend,
What’s once remiss, some photos shall strive to mend.
If you would like to explore more of the history of Verona, there are some great tours here:
THE BEST ACCOMMODATION IN VERONA
There are some beautiful hotels in the historic centre of Verona, but the surrounding suburbs offer better value.
BACKPACKER
Close to the city centre, The Hostello feels homely, with a cute design including balconies for the dorms.
BUDGET
Although it’s out of town, B&B La Magia dei Sogni Relais has a relaxing feel with plenty of greenery and an outdoor pool.
BOUTIQUE
In a historic building once owned by a famous singer, Hotel Accademia offers large rooms with beautiful decorations.
LUXURY
The roof terrace at Due Torri Hotel provides an amazing view of Verona, while the rooms are comfortable and there’s a delicious breakfast.
I loved Verona, however, after Rome and Milan it seemed unusually clean and organised. Did you see a performance in the Roman Arena?
The big cities in Italy (like Rome and Milan) are quite dirty but I found most of the smaller ones in the northern part of the country to be quite well-maintained.
Sadly I didn’t get into the Roman Arena because it was closed so they could film a commercial in there!
It must have been nice to see Verona, after all it will really carry you to the time when you were introduced to the timeless play. Add to that the fact that the place is really enchanting.
‘Enchanting’ is a great way to put it. It’s such a beautiful little Italian city.
You secretly loved the study at school I bet. We haven’t made it to Verona yet on our current Italy trip but your pictures make it look pretty decent.
I would never admit to actually enjoying studying. But I suppose reading Shakespeare wasn’t the worst we had to do! 🙂
Beautiful pictures, perfect Italian style 🙂
Thanks. I feel like I really got into the Italian swing of things… 🙂
I very much enjoyed your presentation of Verona, a beautiful Italian city I’ve yet to visit, but will. I’ve been only to Rome. I will search your articles in hopes of finding you in a small mountain village or two, like: Vietri di Potenza, Basilicata, and even smaller, Taranta Peligna, Abruzzo. They are the birthplaces of my grandmother and grandfather where I will visit in the not too distant future.
Many thanks for taking us around the world with you!
Thanks, Ron. Unfortunately I didn’t get to any of the places you’ve mentioned. There are so many small villages in Italy and each as beautiful as the next. It would take years to see it all properly, I think. Hopefully you get a chance to spend a bit of time there at some point.
There is a lot of stuff going around about Italy at the moment. Wondering if it is the new hot destination for summer 2012. Certainly got a lot of history and culture.
I get the feeling Italy has been the new hot destination for about 2000 years! 🙂
Beautiful photos indeed!
Thanks. (Much better than the words, I know…)
O Verona!! Verona!!! How I’d love to see you.. My dream is to be with you someday… Lovely and Beautiful..
I hope you get there one day. It’s a great city!
What a cool poem. Even if you didn’t like Shakespeare, you seem to have acquired at least some of his art.
Verona looks neat. We have been through the train station, but not much more. I took my parents to Italy a few years ago and we went to Pisa. It felt a little like this in that the one site overcame all the tourists and the rest of town was really pretty cool, yet ignored.
I suppose ‘acquiring’ Shakespeare’s art is one way to put it. ‘Blatantly ripping him off’ would probably be more accurate 🙂
And in regards to Verona, the train station isn’t particularly exciting. You’ve got to check out the whole place sometime!
Great shot of the graffiti on the quote from Romeo & Juliette.
Wow! This is my city 🙂 Thanx to visit it! 🙂
Did you discover the hill up the City? 🙂 is good to take perfect shot of landscape 🙂
Awesome! You’re very lucky to live there, Virginia. It’s a beautiful city. I didn’t make it up the hill so I’ll have to put that on the list for the next time I’m in Italy…