Saturday, September 6th, 2025

This morning our first stop was to visit Casa di Giuletta (Juliet’s house) and the famous balcony. We knew it would get very crowded so we wanted to go early and it was located near our hotel.

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was written about fictional characters but the legend lives on here. Legend stated that this was the birthplace of Giulietta Capuleti. It was a very popular place to visit.

In the same courtyard as the balcony was a bronze statue of Juliet by Nereo Costantini. Many visitors take their picture with their hand on her breast for good luck in love.

Many visitors left love notes and messages on the “Love Letters Wall” or special mailbox. A team of volunteers called the “Secretaries of Juliet” read and respond to letters every year.

Near Juliet’s home was the Piazza Delle Erbe which was the oldest square in the city. In the center of the square was the Fountain of Madonna Verona. It was a historic landmark commissioned in 1368 by Cansignorio della Scala. It had ancient and medieval representations. The large basin and statue body were Roman and the head and arms were added during the medieval period. The scroll being held translated to “Verona is a city that provides justice and loves to be praised.”

Also located in the piazza was the statue of Berto Barbarani (1875-1945). He as a Veronese poet. He’s looking towards the fountain of Madonna Verona. There was a small gold bird by his foot and the locals touch the bird for good luck. His right hand was holding the side of his coat and his left hand was behind his back holding a cane.

The statue Civiltà Italica was erected in 1920 as a memorial to those who died on November 14th, 1915 when an Austrian bomb fell in Piazza Erbe during WWI. The statue was made of bronze by Egidio Girelli from Verona. It was a female attired in ancient dress with a sword in her hand.

Also found in the square was a small ancient podium known as the Capitello. It was used as a public shaming device or pillory. It dated from 1401 and was originally used as a podium to swear in magistrates.

The Colonna Viscontea, the Visconti Column occupied the place of the ancient Berlina which was used throughout the Venetian era for the public humiliation of condemned prisoners. It had a red marble base with a spiral at the corners and a pyramid shape at the top.

At one of the Piazza Erbe was the Maffei Palace. It was a historical palace that was built in the 15th century. The top floor had a balustrade with six statues of divinities: Hercules, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Apollo and Minerva.

In front of the Maffei Palace was St. Mark’s Column. It was made of white Veronese marble and erected by the city in 1523. The winged lion was placed on top of the column in 1524 and was sculpted by Pyrgoteles.

Located between Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza dei Signori was an arch with a walkway above. The walkway was used by the magistrates to go from their residence to the court without walking on city streets and avoiding any “common or corrupt” people! The arch was called the Arco della Costa or Arch of the Rib. The name Arch of the Rib was named because of the rib bone of a whale that hung in the center of the arch. It was believed that it had been there since the 1700s and possibly longer! Various theories exist as to why it was placed there.

We walked along the Adige River which flows through Verona. It was the second longest river in Italy.

At the top of San Pietro hill in the picture below was Castel San Pietro, a fortress built in 1398 on the ruins of a fortress from between the 9th and 10th centuries. It stood for 400 years before it was destroyed by French soldiers in 1801. The fortress we saw was built in 1851.

The Pietra Bridge was a Roman stone bridge that was constructed in the first century B.C.! It was a combination of two materials: the original Roman white stone and the bricks that replaced the damages from floods and war.

This fortified bridge also went over the Adige River and connected the late medieval castle. It was built between 1354 and 1356 and remained intact for at least five centuries. It was totally destroyed by the Germans retreating in 1945. It was reconstructed between 1949 and 1951.

The Verona Cathedral was built in 1187 in a Romanesque style. It was restored and enlarged in 1440. Inside there was a nave and two aisles with gothic columns in dark red Veronese marble with frescoes.

Next to the Duomo was the Biblioteca Capitolare. It was founded in the 5th century and it was the oldest library in the world of those still in existence!

Castelvecchio was built in 1355 as a home and a defensive fortification. At one point it was used as barracks and since 1928 a museum.

Arco dei Gavi (Gavi’s Arch) was an ancient structure located just outside the Roman walls of the city.

The ancient Roman gate, Porta Borsari, was the main entrance to the city of Verona. It was built toward the end of the 1st century BC.

As we walked along the left bank of the Adige River we saw a park with a statue of the Italian painter Paolo Caliari or as he was known as, Paolo Veronese. Paolo was born in Verona but became more famous for his work in Venice. The statue of him was erected in 1888 and sculpted by Torquato Dalla Torre.

The images below were more sights of our walk around Verona. We saw so much as we walked around the city!

After a late lunch we had a wine tasting excursion. There were 8 of us with our driver/guide and we would visit two different wineries. Our first stop was the Damoli Winery. The winery looked down on the town of Negrar about 9 miles from Verona.

It was a small family run vineyard in the heart of Valpolicella Classica region north of Verona. Since they were a small winery they were known for the quality of their wines. It was established in 1623.

Lara, the daughter, gave us our tour and did the tasting with us.

All of their grapes were picked by hand. They had already started picking the grapes that were ready.

We sampled 4 different wines. Our first was a white wine and the other 3 were red. Our wine tasting was served with meat, cheeses, and breadsticks (They were even prepared for gluten free bread!) We enjoyed Lara’s great explanations about each wine before each tasting.

The next vineyard we visited was the Farina Winery. It had been producing wine for over 100 years and now the 4th generation of the Farina family runs the business. It also was located in the Valpolicella Classica region. In the 2000s they expanded and added new areas for bottling and wine cellaring.

Our guide gave us a tour of the winery. Farina also had begun to pick the grapes that were ready to begin the wine process.

We saw the oak barrels for wine and they also used concrete vats! This was the first time we have seen concrete vats used.

After our tour we tasted 5 different wines. First was Valpolicella and it was the youngest wine. Our second wine was Montecorna Valpolicella Ripasso. It was a Classico superior. The Amarone was the third wine and was a vintage 2022 with 15% alcohol content. The fourth wine was Montefante Amarone, 2017 with a 16% alcohol. Our last wine was a della Valpolicella which was a dessert wine.

After we returned from the winery we relaxed for a short time and then walked to dinner and found a restaurant along the Piazza Bra. It was a beautiful evening to eat outside.

The moon was rising over the Verona Arena. It was the day before the full moon and lunar eclipse.

Across from the Verona Arena we saw an advertisement for the 2026 Winter Olympics that was projected on the Barbieri Palace. The closing ceremonies will be held in the Verona Arena!