Sights

The Arena
The Roman Amphitheater, commonly known as The Arena. It was constructed in the first century outside the city walls, but in the third century the walls were extended to include this arena.
This Roman Theater is one of the biggest (and best preserved) theaters from the Roman Empire times. There’s place for more than 22,000 spectators. Although the building is now used for operas and other cultural shows, its original use was (as you can imagine) crueler: the famous Gladiators fights. Nowadays world famous operas are performed in the Theater every Summer.
Tickets can be purchased:
- On line (Tickets for the 2005 opera Festival in the Arena di Verona will be available for purchase from November 15th, 2004)
- by telephone (telephone number + 39 045 800 5151)
- by fax (fax number +39 045 973499)

Piazza Bra
Once a suburban field ("braida"), this is now the center of Verona. The piazza is large and airy and partially kept as a garden. It is dominated by the massive stone Arena. To the southeast it is bordered by the neoclassical Barbieri Palace, headquarters of the Town Hall. To the south it is bordered by the 17th century Gran Guardia Palace, a baroque building once used for military gatherings. On the other side is Viale Liston, with its wide, pink marble sidewalk, where the Veronese traditionally take their "passeggiata" (stroll).

Piazza delle Erbe
Piazza delle Erbe is one of the most picturesque squares in Italy. In this square there's a popular and colorful market. This market has a long history, because already during the Roman Empire this was the place where the Roman Forum stood. In this square there are many interesting buildings and sculptures.
At the center is the Fountain of the Verona Madonna, commissioned by Cansignorio della Scala.
The Roman statue that stands over the fountain is one of the symbols of the city. On the left side of the piazza, to the southwest, is the 14th century Domus Mercatorium, ancient headquarters of the merchants association. Maffei Palace, a lavish baroque building, and the GardelloTower, built by Cansignorio della Scala in 1370, are at the back of the piazza.
Proceeding along the right side of the piazza, we encounter the medieval Lamberti Tower, begun in 1172 and extended and finished in the 15th century. From the top (83 meters), there is a wide view over the ancient city.
The tower is connected to the Domas Nova (also called Palace of the Judges) by the Costa Arch. The last building on the right, Casa Mazzanti, is decorated with recently restored 16th century frescoes.

Castelvecchio
This is the largest civil architectural monument of medieval Verona. The Scaligeri had it built towards the middle of the 14th century when they began to doubt the loyalty of the city. Castelvecchio, built by Cangrande II, was a residence, munitions depository, military college and barracks until 1925, when it became the site of the Civic Art Museum.
It presently holds Venetian paintings and sculptures from the 14th to 17th centuries, including works by Pisanello, Veronese, Tiziano and Tintoretto. The equestrian statue of Cangrande I della Scala, gentleman of Verona, dominated the courtyard from an overhanging structure.

Roman Theatre
Begun in the first century BC, the Roman Theatre was built for ritual and theatrical productions. It is located on the left bank of the Adige, at the base of the Hills of St. Peter's, between the Roman Della Pietra Bridge and the destroyed Postumio Bridge. The theatre remained buried for many centuries, until excavations began in the 19th century. These brought to light an impressive structure that now hosts productions of prose and dance, managed by Rome's summer theatre program (Ente Comunale Estate Teatrale). Only the lower-level seating and part of the stage is visible, because the upper part of the terracing has not been rebuilt.

Juliet's Tomb and the Fresco Museum
Juliet's tomb is located within the ex-convent of San Francesco al Corso, which belonged to the Cappuccine order in the 13th century. This is where, according to tradition, the tragic conclusion to Shakespeare's events took place.
The ex-convent is pervaded by an intensely romantic atmosphere, and so the town of Verona has made a frescoed room available for civil weddings (including those of foreigners), under the auspices of "Verona, city of love".
The museum contains frescoes from Verona's churches and palaces, removed from their original sites in the 19th century.

Juliet's House
At the end of the via Mazzini on the right is via Cappello. Number 23 is the original building of 1200, many times rebuilt.
Custodian of the myth of the two unhappy lovers, immortalized by Shakespeare, this house of the Capulet family with its celebrated balcony, symbolic of love, is a destination for visitors from all over the world.

Basilica of Santa Anastasia
This huge gothic church, erected by the Dominicans between 1289 and 1481, is one of the highest expressions of the Venetian Gothic. The unfinished façade was decorated with a beautiful 14th century door with walls deeply angled on both sides, embellished by strips of newel posts in variegated marble. The interior houses many works of art, especially from the medieval period. The first chapel to the left of the apse, that of the Cavalli family, is decorated with a fresco by Altichiero. This a masterpiece of "cavalleresco" gothic (1380). In the Giusti Chapel, which is entered through the transept, one of the most famous frescos of Pisanello, "San Giorgio freeing the princess," is preserved (1436 to 1438).

San Zeno Maggiore
This is one of the masterpieces of Italian romanesque architecture. Paleo-christian in origin, it was built in three phases, between the 12th and 14th centuries, when the apse was remade in gothic form and a tri-lobed wooden ceiling was raised over the central nave. The ivory-colored facade was decorated with a large rose window from the beginning of the 13th century. Its doorway is furnished with a "protiro," with reliefs by the master Nicolò (1138), and a beautiful bronze door from the 12th century. A masterpiece of medieval European sculpture, it is made up of 48 bronze tiles that represent scenes from the Old and New Testaments and episodes from the life of San Zeno.