Lake Garda 2022. Day 4: Verona.

It was up early today for a trip to Verona. Our bus took us the length of Lake Garda and it was nice to see the rest of the lake and we think Riva is definitely the prettiest place.

Verona is a city that prospered in the 13th century under the rule of the delle Scala family and became a world heritage site in 2000. As we approached the city and went through the outer walls we instantly could see that this was going to be a beautiful place. We entered the city across the Castle Vecchio Bridge into the main streets of Verona. The sight of this old city with grand architecture and beautiful little piazzas looked just like you imagine Italy to look. 

The ancient roman amphitheater was a stunning sight in the Piazza Bra and had been built in 30AD. It is used today for world renowned opera performances.

The heatwave today was intense so we just wandered the winding streets taking in all the stunning places. We came across the white limestone arches of the Porta Borsari which is an ancient roman gate. It dates back to 1st century AD it was so ornate but was unfortunately having some work done and the bright sun made it difficult to capture its beauty. 

 

We spent the rest of the morning exploring this very ancient city taking in the sights as we went along. 

The Piazza Delle Erbe was a bustling market place and there was so much to see. It was a very relaxing yet exciting place to sit with the Torre dei Lamberti in view with its 84 foot tower while enjoying our now favourite tipple aperol spritz. This charming place was a mismatch of different styles and periods of architecture and somehow just all merged into a stunning square. The fountain in the centre was built in the 1368 but the statue Madonna Verona is a roman sculpture dating back to 380 AD. It really is a perfect spot for a lunch and to people watch.

After we had rested out of the heat we continued our tour of Verona, we again found another small square that had a large statue of the famous poet Dante known for  "The Divine Comedy" one of the worlds greatest literary poems. These little  piazza are all so pretty to look at and are steeped in history.

We could not visit Verona without visiting the homes of Shakespeares most famous lovers. This is still debated by many but seems to be believed by most( well definitely the tourists here today.) From here we walked to Juliette's house which was supposedly the route that Romeo ran to see Juliette this was very busy. We looked at the famous balcony but declined to rub her breasts ( well the statues ) which is known to bring good luck.

Although the french are well known for their macaroons we found a small cafe that sold the most divine ones here in Italy. When it is this hot you have to take respite where you can😂.

 

 We finished our late afternoon with a visit to a museum, this was within the medieval castle. We did enjoy it but probably need to visit again  as the temperature inside and out were the same UNBEARABLE !!! The art and sculptures really needed more time than we had. We made our way back to the bus and travelled back to Riva. We have had a lovely day but it was just too hot and exhausting. I think I would like to return when the heatwave is over and we do not feel so rushed.