Travelogue: Verona

While I was in school I had enacted the character of the judge in the play of The Merchant of Venice. Back then the names Antonio, Bassanio and Shylock were strange sounding to us. Later when I read other Shakespeareren works like Romeo & Juilet or The Two Gentlemen of Verona, I began to agnise the prominence of the city of Verona in the writings of this famous bard. Little had I envisaged then, that one day I could be visiting this city. Verona lies in the Veneto region of north-east Italy about 80 km from Trento, my current resident town. So on the sunny weekend last week, I decided to make a trip to Verona.

It is claimed that after Roma it is Verona that has the most number of ruins of the Roman era. All the major touristic sights are along the river Adige which takes a contorted path along the city. The Castelvecchio is an impressive 14th century castle, now hosting a great collection of the Renaissance era. On its exterior is the Ponte Scaligero offering great views of the Adige on either side. In its vicinity is the cathedral of San Zeno Maggiore. This ornate Romanesque church is adorned with an impressive rose window and a magnificent cieling resembling an upturned boat. The exterior walls are elaborately decorated with ivory-coloured tufa and pink limestone.

One of the major attractions of Verona is the massive Arena from the Roman times, which is still in a functional state and hosts plenty of events, orchestras etc. In its prime days, it could accomodate the entire population of Verona who would gather to watch the gladitorial combats. Now it regularly hosts plenty of operas and orchestras. Listening to a prima donna in a perfectly acoustic environ under the cool summer night sky with a pleasant breeze blowing is an experience worth cherishing with your loved ones.

Talking about love, Verona is hometown to two of the most famous lovers of all time - Romeo and Juliet. The house of Juliet, located at Via Cappello, is a major draw point for all tourists - young and old alike. Couples (females especially) love to stand on the small marble balcony, the famed balcony on which Romeo is said to have climbed to meet his love. There is a statue of Juliet in the courtyard and the rumour has it that if one holds his/her palm over her bossom then your love is deemed to succeed. If only Romeo had done this when required then probably they would have had much greater luck with their love!

On the gates you find numerous locks which people hang in to bind their love for eternity. The walls of the walkway are spangled with love messages written in all kinds of languages the world has known. Inspite of a heavy penalty on being caught people smitten by the love bug always find methods to make a statement of their love on these hallowed walls!