The play, set in Verona, begins with a street brawl between Montague and Capulet supporters who are sworn enemies. The Prince of Verona intervenes and declares that further breach of the peace will be punishable by death. Later, Count Paris talks to Capulet about marrying his daughter, but Capulet is wary of the request because Juliet is only thirteen. Capulet asks Paris to wait another two years and invites him to attend a planned Capulet ball. Lady Capulet and Juliet’s nurse try to persuade Juliet to accept Paris’s courtship…

« There is no world without Verona wall,
but purgatory, tortore, hell itself.
Hence banished is banish’d from the world,
and word’s exile is death: …. »

(Shakespere, “Romeo and Juliet”)

Going through all the streets of Old Town and arriving in the beautiful Piazza Bra, with the background and the impressive Roman Arena Christmas Star that rests its wings on the square. From late November to late December in the Piazza dei Signori, Piazza Dante said there will be mellow wooden craft exhibitors typical traditional decorations such as glass, wood and ceramics, many gift ideas. In addition to cusiosare among the multitude of crafts that recall the Nordic tradition, you can enjoy Vin Brulè, accompanied by the typical spicy treats.

Next to the Piazza dei Signori at the foot of the highest tower in Verona: Torre dei Lamberti (Lamberti Tower), in the beautiful Piazza Mercato Vecchio (Old Market Square) Christmas Market will take place in Verona, where you can taste typical products and the excellence of our territory. For the children also will have the opportunity to meet Santa and visit his house in the woods. Finally, in the magical setting of Piazza del Tribunale (Tribunal Square) will be the Christmas market.

Food and wine typically Verona, Christmas crafts and fun for the little train with the Gnomes, will revive and will complete in this square for fun and entertainment for young and old.

Visit the Christmas Market in Verona means dive into magical Christmas tradition Veronese and then immerse yourself in the magical atmosphere of Romeo and Juliet, Love in this city.

The arch of the Coast is so called because of the presence, from the mid-1700, a rib of a whale hanging from the ceiling, from here you get into the Piazza dei Signori. On the two squares stands the Torre dei Lamberti (entrance from the courtyard of City Hall).

Under the overpass that connects the City Hall (or the Ragione) to the “Domus Nova” or house of Judges, hangs a rib of a whale, the “Coast”, whose presence is documented since the mid-eighteenth century, is explained, perhaps with the fact that that side of the square there were three spices: relics of this kind often adorned the kind of shops.

It’s about 550 meters high. The permanent population is about 250 people, but in July and August, the beauty and peacefulness of Castelvero, jointed to really funny opportunity to stay togheter, recalls a thousand in habitants.

In the 2th week-end of August Castelvero entertain a happy summer fest and on Sunday there is the famous “Passeggiata con l’Oco”, played by all the Contrade of Castelvero.
Castelvero allows you to experience the beautiful nature of Lessinia and retains some of the finest traditions of mountain life.

In Castelvero you can taste the best food, wine and old traditional grappa and you can immerse themselves in a well-preserved nature.

The castle was cited for the first time in occasion of the Magyar invasions (934).

In 1797-1805 the Soave city was under French rule. In 1809 there were small fights between French and Austrian troops in the vicinity. Later Soave was included in the kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, and in 1866 became part of Italy.

This monumental fortication probably dates back to the early 10th century, at the age of the hungarian invasions, commissioned by the Italian king Berengario I.

As Federico Barbarossa stated in a diploma, Sambonifacio were the first feudatories who owned the castle until the early 13th century.

The fortalice importance grew under the Scaligeri’s domination due to its strategic location: it was restored by Cansignorio who also strengthened it, in 1375, with the construction of the big boundary walls that enclose the village.

In 1387, following the fall of the Scaligeri’s seigniory, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, lord of Milan, took possession of Soave Castle in which he put as his deputy Balzarino da Pusterla. In 1404 Da Carrara, lords of Padua, succedeeded Visconti as owners of the castle until, on June 23rd 1405, they were defeated by the Republic of Venice that declared: “Rocha Suapis utilissima nostro dominio”.

Still today the current owner continues the work of the beloved great grandfather, grandfather and father with endless fondness, taking tender care of the Castle in order to preserve inaltered the magnificent beauty.

The northern side of the square is occupied by the ancient town hall, the Torre dei Lamberti, the Casa dei Giudici (“Judges Hall”) and the Mazzanti Houses. The western side, the shortest one, features the Baroque Palazzo Maffei, decorated by statues of Greek gods. It is faced by a white marble column, on which is St. Mark’s Lion, symbol of the Republic of Venice.

The north-western side occupies the site of the ancient Roman Capitol Hill, which looked towards the Forum. Numerous of its buildings facing the square have maintained façade frescoes. On the southern side is the Casa dei Mercanti (“House of the Merchants”, also known as Domus Mercatorum). Other buildings are reminiscent of medieval tower-houses.

The square’s most ancient monument is the fountain, surmounted by a statue called Madonna Verona, which is however a Roman sculpture dating to 380 AD. Also historical is the capitello, dating to the 13th century, during which it was used for several ceremonies, including the oath of the city’s medieval podestà and pretors. Towards Via Cappello is another column, with a 14th century aedicula with reliefs of the Virgin and the Saints Zeno, Peter and Christopher.

The arch was commissioned to architect L. Vitruvius Cerdo in the mid-1st century AD. In the Middle Ages, during the communal age of Verona, the city’s council used it as an entrance gate when it was decided to surround Verona with a line of walls.

During the Napoleonic rule in Italy, the French engineers demolished it. Its ruins were moved to a square and the to the Arena. In 1932 they were used to rebuild the arch, next to Castelvecchio, not far from its original location.

It was built (most likely in 1354-1356) by Cangrande II della Scala, to grant him a safe way of escape from the annexed eponymous castle in the event of a rebellion of the population against his tyrannic rule. The solidity of the construction allowed it to resist untouched until, in the late 18th century, the French troops destroyed the tower on the left bank (although it probably dated from the occupation of Verona by the Visconti or the Republic of Venice).

The bridge was however totally destroyed, along with the Ponte Pietra, by the retreating German troops on April 24, 1945. A faithful reconstruction begun in 1949 and was finished in 1951, with the exception of the left tower.

The bridge is in red bricks in the upper part, as all landmarks in Verona from the Scaliger era, and in white marble in the lower one. It includes three spans of decreasing length starting from pentagonal towers. The largest span, measuring 48.70 m, meant that the bridge featured at the time of its construction the world’s largest bridge arch (the others measure 29.15 and 24.11 meters). The two pylons are 12.10 x 19.40 and 6.30 x 17.30 meters respectively. The bridge has a total length of 120 m.

The building itself was built in AD 30 on a site which was then beyond the city walls. The ludi (shows and games) staged there were so famous that spectators came from many other places, often far away, to witness them. The amphitheatre could host more than 30,000 spectators in ancient times.

The round façade of the building was originally composed of white and pink limestone from Valpolicella, but after a major earthquake in 1117, which almost completely destroyed the structure’s outer ring, except for the so-called “ala”, the stone was quarried for re-use in other buildings. Nevertheless it impressed medieval visitors to the city, one of whom considered it to have been a labyrinth, without ingress or egress. Ciriaco d’Ancona was filled with admiration for the way it had been built and Giovanni Antonio Panteo’s civic panegyric De laudibus veronae, 1483, remarked that it struck the viewer as an construction that was more than human.

The first interventions to recover the arena’s function as a theatre began during the Renaissance. Some operatic performances were later mounted in the building during the 1850s, owing to its outstanding acoustics.

In 1913, operatic performances in the arena commenced in earnest due to the zeal and initiative of the Italian opera tenor Giovanni Zenatello and the impresario Ottone Rovato. The first 20th-century operatic production at the arena, a staging of Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida, took place on 10 August of that year, to mark the birth of Verdi 100 years before in 1813. Musical luminaries such as Puccini and Mascagni were in attendance. Since then, summer seasons of opera have been mounted continually at the arena, except in 1915–18 and 1940–45, when Europe was convulsed in war.

Nowadays, four productions are mounted each year between June and August. During the winter months, the local opera and ballet companies perform at the L’Accademia Filarmonica.

Modern-day travellers are advised that admission tickets to sit on the arena’s stone steps are much cheaper to buy than tickets giving access to the padded chairs available on lower levels. Candles are distributed to the audience and lit after sunset around the arena.

Every year over 500,000 people see productions of the popular operas in this arena. Once capable of housing 20,000 patrons per performance (now limited to 15,000 because of safety reasons), the arena has featured many of world’s most notable opera singers. In the post-World War Two era, they have included Giuseppe Di Stefano, Maria Callas, Tito Gobbi and Renata Tebaldi among other names. A number of conductors have appeared there, too. The official arena shop has historical recordings made by some of them available for sale.

Verona is situated in the south-western area of Veneto, close to the eastern bank of Lake Garda, renowned for the beauty of its landscape with green and pretty hills, small and large beaches.

This wonderful landscape is complemented by the small towns with typical coloured houses and magnificent villas, emblem of an old and refined prosperity.

The Verona area has many buildings of artistic and historic value: castles, towers, hermitages, monasteries, sanctuaries and old Romanesque parishes.