A Photo Tour of Verona - The Home of Romeo & Juliet

Heading Home

Hi all, I'm Adriano. I'm a supervisor at Shakespeare's Globe Shop. I am Italian, and in February, I went home to visit my family in Peschiera del Garda, near Lake Garda.

When I travel to Italy, I fly from Gatwick, and when I travel to the airport, I always love to take a picture of the Globe from Blackfriars.

I always have to take pictures when I fly over the Alps, as it means that we're getting close to home.

Once I have landed safely in Verona, I am very thankful, as I'm actually very scared of flying!

Anytime I visit my family, they make sure that the fridge is stocked full of good food that I can't get in the UK 🙂

On this visit, my mum reminded me just how happy she is that I am working at the Globe, and left out two oranges on the table as an homage to Much Ado About Nothing from Summer 2024.

Peschiera del Garda

I mentioned that I'm from Italy, but I'm specifically from a small town on the biggest lake in Italy, Peschiera del Garda.

It is a small town between Verona and Mantua. Yes, Romeo probably travelled through my town when he was exiled.

It's a very beautiful town on the lake, with a historic centre built in a fort shaped like a Pentagon. Water is everywhere around it.

Every town or city in Italy has a Saint who protects it; in my case, it's Saint Martin. 

Rivers, like the one in my town pictured above, are places where women went to wash clothes in the past.

Verona

Even though I'm from this little town on the lake, I have always loved visiting Verona. My wife loves it too, as it is a bigger city but still has the same qualities and "cosy place" of a small town. 

As you can see from these pictures, I am standing in front of the medieval walls of the city. Here, they have put up a sign for Shakespeare that remarks that there is nothing outside of Verona. I believe so, too, as it is a very beautiful city. 

Arena di Verona

Above is the Arena di Verona, Italy's third-largest amphitheatre. It's still standing today, and you can still visit it. We have an exciting Opera season every summer. You should watch an opera in this marvellous Roman Amphitheatre! There is a tradition that before the opera, everyone should light a candle (they hand them to you before entering the amphitheatre), and it's wonderful to see the hundreds of candles lit up. 

Town Hall

Here I am in front of the beautiful Town Hall in Verona. 

Piazza delle Erbe

This is the beautiful Piazza delle Erbe, literally Grass Square. The name comes from the market that was present in the past, which sold every type of fruit and vegetable. Unfortunately, the market is now set up to sell Verona-themed merchandise to tourists.

Arco della Costa

If you look closely, you will see that real ribs are hanging from this arch. There is a lot of speculation about the real meaning of Arco della Costa. Someone said it's a dinosaur, everyone thinks it's from a Whale, they said it might be a Devil, and others say that it will fall down when a person of pure heart walks under it; that's why they are still hanging there.

The mouth in the wall was a way to sue people who asked for too high interest on debt; it was done secretly, as you can see.

Piazza Dante

The Dante statue is located in Piazza Dante, which the Italians consider the father of the Italian language. 

Trattoria alla Colonna, or as the locals call it, "La cottoletteria", they do the proper breaded chicken in a Milanese style, which means that they "beat" the meat so much that the meat is just a few millimetres thick. They have different sizes. I dare you to eat the large; the one in the picture is the small size, with homemade mayo, and you can't miss the Tiramisu. I think that the food is good, but I have actually never tried anything other than the Cottoletta/ breaded chicken, as it's too good to miss.

Piazza Dante

I don't know if tourists know about it; it's a bit hidden, but a little treasure. It's close to the "Alla Colonna" trattoria/restaurant and behind Piazza Dante.

Casa di Romeo

Piazza Dante is where you can find the house of Romeo, which, to my knowledge, is the real house of the Montague family. It's closed to the public, but if you dine at Al Duca d'Aosta restaurant, you can peek at the garden inside the Medieval walls.

Juliet's House

At the entrance, many people, especially teenagers, wrote their wishes and the names of their loved ones on the walls. To preserve them, they decided to cover the original walls with extra wood.

This is finally the most famous balcony in history: Juliet's balcony. Unfortunately, no historical evidence says this balcony was Juliet's or that the building belonged to the Capulet family.

This was also the set of a seminal version of Romeo and Juliet directed by Franco Zeffirelli (everyone knows the "DiCaprio" version, but trust me, Zeffirelli's is unmissable!!!).

In the shopping centre close to Juliet's house, there were posters of letters written to Juliet by people seeking advice.

Ruins of Porta Leoni

Porta Borsari

As someone famously said, "if you dig in Italy, you will always find a treasure".

This is another Veronese love tragedy, but it's not very well-known. Our very own Shakespeare wrote the story; Corrado from San Bonifazio was a young soldier in love with Isabella from the House of the Donati. It didn't seem she was interested, even though he did everything he could to make her fall in love. He got tired of being rejected, and when they met, he told her she was cold like ice and cold like the water of the well. Isabella challenged him to see if the water was cold, as he said, he obeyed and jumped into the well. In the deepest part of her heart, Isabella was in love with Corrado; therefore, she decided to jump into the well, disappearing with his passion. You can still find the well in a small alley close to Piazza Erbe, there's always been a writing on it indicating the well, but I think that the household around the well got annoyed by the sounds of the many tourists taking pictures of the well, which unfortunately, all the signs have been removed. If you want to see this beautiful well, look for the "Pozzo dell'amore", the well of love.

My Favourite Coffee in Verona

This is the best coffee you can have in Verona. It's a tiny coffee shop called Caffe' Borsari (locals also call it Caffe' Tubino, by the coffee brand they previously used), but it's beautiful and distinctive. You can share a proper Italian experience. When I say that, it means that there are probably 3-4 small tables, some Italians, of course, do sit down, but you will see that most of them get a coffee, drink it standing at the "bar" and leave. I dare you to use the toilet, it's behind a small door in a small corridor, and you need to be careful of your head!

Gioelleria Porta Borsari

This is part of a church, but it's now the smallest jewellery store in the world. It's very characteristic of Verona.

Ristorante San Matteo

If you are in Verona for a romantic holiday, this would be a beautiful place to eat. It's a restaurant built in a deconsecrated church, Saint Matthew restaurant or Ristorante San Matteo. 

There are still lots of places, restaurants, and monuments you can visit in Verona, so if you are interested in a trip to Verona, please leave a comment, and I would be really happy to be your "local guide."

 

Written and photographed by Adriano (Shop Supervisor)