The City of Verona is the 2nd time we've needed to leave the coach outside the city limits, and seek alternative transportation. Well actually, the 3rd time. Once we were able to walk, once we took the train in Pisa and here...apparently the city bus is the transportation. We're milling about the parking lots while our guide pays for the 40 of us to get in line for the ride into the town center.
Verona has a working Coliseum. The Arena di Verona built back in the 1st century is still used for life performance, Opera's. It's located in the Piazza Bra
It's quite large. We did not tour, but ventured on.
Verona has interesting architecture throughout the city, but is probably best known for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. However..........
Juliet's balcony....What a tourist trap. Our guide said...I have to take you there, it's part of the "deal". Then you're on your own, meet back at...whatever our appointed time was to get the city bus again back to the parking lot to our comfy coach. The wee little balcony you see, speculation has it or perhaps folk lore that this could have been "The Balcony". However, there isn't proof, or documentation to support that. It's crowded, as you can see, the courtyard with people reminded me of the scene from Animal House when the drum major leads the band into a dead end alley.
There is no plague, or historic marker to tell you this is something special. There's lots of notes and graffiti to the left under vines. The bricks were getting destroyed by notes left..often stuck on with chewing gum. So the city decided they needed to do something and put up wooden boards and when a panel is full of notes, they remove it and add another panel. You're suppose to leave a note to Juliet. It's suppose to be romantic. One article indicated you could tour the house and stand on the balcony, another article indicated they no longer permit people to stand on the balcony.
These two pictures aren't photo's I took, but those on line (wiki), where you get a better feel for the graffiti.
We spent maybe 3 minutes there. What a huge disappointment!! There used to be a bronze statue of Juliet, and it was said to be good luck if you rubbed her breast (not making this up, honest). The statue was getting worn down so was removed and is in a museum.
We decided to explore a bit and Wondered who was being honored here.
Google tells me it's Flavio Tosi, the Mayor of Verona. Apparently he served the community/area in multiple capacities. The assumption is, he must have been well liked.
Verona is a medieval town, and it might have been worthwhile to spend time looking around at the buildings, a Basilica perhaps, but we're now off on our comfortable coach making our way to Venice!
I've stressed the words comfortable coach in this post twice...why, because people kept calling it a bus and our driver and tour guide would correct them and say coach..........after taking the city bus to the town center............I see why. Our comfortable coach was like business class compared to the city bus.
PLEASE leave me a comment when you come visit, so I know you were here. Your visits and comments are very special to me.
