A visit to Verona

Some suggestions to help you choose what to see in Verona, in fact, in the small historical center there are a multitude of historical and artistic heritage of different ages.

Just stroll through the city streets to understand the richness, beauty and uniqueness that make Verona a small jewel, also recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In this article we propose a walking itinerary that will touch various sites of particular interest that you can choose according to your taste. Depending on the time available to you, we recommend choosing 4 or 5 sites so that you can enjoy them in their complexity with calm and tranquillity and give space to your mind to process memories (and maybe come back for a second visit in the future).
Our advice is to park outside the historic center and use public transport, as the parking lots in the center are exclusively for a fee (only on Sundays most of them are free). Due to its proximity to the motorway exit, we recommend the area of the stadium for the abundance of parking and public transport lines. From here you proceed by taking the line 11, 12 or 13 (city bus timetable) which will take you directly to the first leg of our route.

1. The church of San Fermo is dedicated to the Saints Fermo and Rustico, now it is comprised of an upper church in Gothic style and a lower Romanesque one. The decoration inside is one of the most flourishing examples of Veronese workshops of the fourteenth century.
2. Crossing the road and continuing along Via Leoni you will find one of the two accesses to the ancient Roman city: Porta Leoni. Through an opening in the pavement you can see the base of one of the two towers that formed the gate. On the right there is part of the internal facade.
3. Continuing along Via Cappello you will find one of the major attractions of Verona: Juliet's house, a romantic reconstruction of the house of the protagonist of the famous Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet.
4. Continuing further along Via Cappello you arrive at Piazza Erbe, so called because since ancient times the market has been held here. Piazza Erbe is located where the Roman forum once stood, but over the centuries, medieval buildings have taken the place of Roman ones. Now the square looks like a colourful market, surrounded by very beautiful buildings and historical monuments, among which the 17th century Palazzo Maffei stands out.
5. Passing under the "arco della Costa", so called because a whale's rib is hanging there, you reach Piazza dei Signori or Piazza Dante for the statue of the supreme poet that stands in the middle. Here there are many monumental buildings: Palazzo della Ragione, which hosts the Modern Art Gallery "Achille Forti"; Torre dei Lamberti, from which, from its 84 m of height, you can enjoy an incomparable view of the city; Palazzo del Capitanio, which hosts, in the basement, the International Centre of Photography Scavi Scaligeri; Palazzo del Podestà; Loggia del Consiglio; Casa dei Giudici.
6. At the end of the square on the right there is the thousand-year-old church of Santa Maria Antica, which dates back to the 8th century and that later became the private chapel of the della Scala family; next to it there is the monumental cemetery of the family: the Arche Scaligere.
7. Now taking Vicolo Cavalletto to the left and turning into Corso Sant'Anastasia we arrive at the beautiful Basilica of Santa Anastasia. Begun in 1290, the facade was never completed. Inside it preserves works of art of inestimable value.
8. Continuing along Via Massalongo and taking Via Duomo we arrive at the Cathedral of Santa Maria Matricolare. The Cathedral complex, which includes the Cloister of the Canons, the Church of Sant'Elena and the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte, stands on an area rich in Roman archaeological finds.
9. Now keeping the cathedral on the left, continuing on Piazza Vescovado and passing through Piazza Broilo you arrive at Ponte Pietra. It is a Roman bridge that was destroyed by the Germans in 1945. Luckily the stone blocks and bricks, projected into the river bed by the explosion, were recovered and used to rebuild the bridge in a very faithful way to the original.
10. Once you cross the bridge and going to the left you will find the church of Santo Stefano, one of the oldest buildings of the city. It dates back to the 5th century but underwent various extensions and additions over the centuries. Inside there are numerous artworks and a large number of relics.
11. Returning towards Ponte Pietra and continuing for about 200 m we arrive at the Roman Theatre, dating back to the first century BC but recovered only in the second half of the nineteenth century. The buildings that survived at the excavations for the recovery are the old convent of San Girolamo which now hosts the Archaeological Museum of Verona and the Church of Santi Siro e Libera which is built on the theatre. During the summer an important theatre and music festival takes place here: the Teatrale Veronese summer.
12. Following the course of the river and continuing on Interrato dell'acqua morta, so called because until the end of the nineteenth century a branch of the Adige river passed here, we find the church of Santa Maria in Organo. Inside it preserves an extraordinary pictorial decoration, with frescoes painted by the major painters of Verona in the Middle Ages. During the visit, particular attention should be paid to the complex and refined inlay works in the 16th century wooden choir and on the sacristy wardrobes.
13. Continuing along Piazza Isolo, we turn left into Via Porta Organa, at the end of which we turn right into Via Giardino Giusti. A few steps away on the left is the entrance to an important historical garden of Verona, Giardino Giusti, which still belongs to the Giusti family. In the park you can still see all the typical elements of 16th century gardens: vases with citrus fruits, mythological statues, fountains, cedar trees, caves, masks, Roman finds and pavilions to stop and admire the view. Here is also the family's representative palace, which has been made partially visitable.

The itinerary ends here. Now go to the end of Via Giardino Giusti, turn right and walk along Via Giosuè Carducci to reach Ponte Nuovo. Crossing the river and going straight ahead you reach the garden of Piazza Indipendenza, with its beautiful monumental trees, which is located near Piazza Erbe.