After breakfast meet your private guide in your hotel lobby and enjoy a morning walking tour of Verona’s delightful centro storico. Well known as the setting for three of Shakespeare’s plays, most importantly for the star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet, the city offers so much more than a romantic retreat. Here your heart may well miss a beat as you catch a glimpse of its Roman amphitheatre and gaze up at the magnificent palazzi. You may find yourself falling in love with Verona’s pretty courtyards and charming squares. Beyond the well-known fiction, there is a bustling, culturally thriving city and genuine history waiting to be explored.
Verona’s early beginnings remain a mystery but we know the area was inhabited in the 4th century BC and, thanks to its strategic geographic position as a suitable spot for northern border control, became a Roman municipium in the 1st century BC. Evidence of the city’s ancient past can still be seen in the existing street pattern that traces the Roman chess-board layout and in archaeological remains scattered throughout the city. Verona flourished under the rule of the Scaliger dynasty in the 13th and 14th centuries and continued to prosper during the almost four hundred years of Venetian domination, up until the 1700s. The surviving architectural masterpieces and urban fabric reflecting Verona’s development over 2,000 years have earned the city its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A meticulously assembled collage of fine buildings and decorative elements from several historic epochs makes up the attractive historic centre. Roman ruins, Gothic monuments, medieval towers, Renaissance facades and modern-day shop windows all jostle for your attention.
Your guide will lead you through the centuries and point out the city’s best-loved landmarks. The grandiose, remarkably well-preserved Arena in Piazza Bra is one of Verona’s most impressive sights. Built in the 1st century AD, it is Italy’s third largest Roman amphitheatre and could seat up to 25,000 impassioned spectators who once gathered here to watch gladiator games and executions. The Arena, with its excellent acoustics, still draws crowds today as an entertainment venue hosting theatre performances, concerts and the internationally-renowned summer opera festival.
Another of Verona’s major attractions is located on Via Cappello. Here, according to legend, you can find the very house where Romeo swore his eternal love to Juliet. Visitors from all over the world line up to touch her bronze statue’s breast, hoping to get lucky in love, and to snap shots of the iconic balcony. Although Shakespeare is extremely unlikely ever to have set foot in this city and his characters are fictional, Verona’s fame is inextricably tied up with the destiny of the protagonists of this world-famous tragedy. The 14th century palazzo actually belonged to the Dal Cappello family, a name that sparked a link with the Shakespearian Capulet, thus lending a semblance of veracity to the legend.
A short walk will take you to picturesque Piazza Erbe, the city’s trading hub. People have assembled here since ancient Roman times, when the area was occupied by a forum. Today the square is the site of the fruit and vegetable market as well as a favourite meeting spot with young Veronesi who gather here for ritual evening aperitivi. Listen as your guide gives you details about the striking structures that surround the piazza: the arcaded portico of the medieval Casa dei Mercanti, the Mazzanti Houses, adorned with beautiful frescoes, the elaborate Baroque facade of Palazzo Maffei and the 84-metre-tall Lamberti Tower looming over the city. Not to be missed on your stroll about town are also the nearby Piazza dei Signori, the centre of Verona’s political life for hundreds of years, and the Arche Scaligere, the monumental tombs of the Lords of Verona.
After the tour your private chauffeur will pick you up and drive you to the Valpolicella wine region. The Latin etymology Val polis cellae, meaning “the valley with many cellars”, attests to Valpolicella’s ancient viticultural tradition. Extending for 240 square kilometres across the foothills of the Lessini mountains, between Verona and Lake Garda, this is one of Italy’s most prestigious wine-producing regions. Wine enthusiasts will have the opportunity to visit a highly-esteemed estate, located in an enchanting setting on the grounds of a Renaissance villa. Built at the request of humanist and landowner Giulio Della Torre in 1560, the mansion perfectly fulfilled its functions as a working farm, from which to supervise the estate’s agricultural activities, and a peaceful luxury retreat, where the owner and his privileged guests could come to meditate, relax and idle the summers away. Accompanied by a member of staff, you will explore this truly marvellous country house and learn all about the history and refined symbolism behind its construction. Highlights include the central courtyard, blending references to the design of an ancient Roman domus with a typically Mannerist taste, the hall of mirrors, decorated with original medallion portraits of poets of antiquity, and the awe-inspiring zoomorphic fireplaces featuring a lion, a sea monster and a devil. After the visit sit down inside the mansion’s dining room to be served a delicious lunch paired with the estate’s wines.
A short drive will then bring you to another renowned winery. Here, on a tour of the cellar, you will get to know about wine-making and ageing methods, become familiar with the particular features and regulations that define Valpolicella wines and discover the unique characteristics of the terroir and climate that make wines produced here so special. Top off your day with a tasting of the estate’s wines and a toast, then rejoin your chauffeur and return to your accommodation in Verona.
