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# 63 • JUNE 28 , 2015
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ITALIAN CULTURE AND HISTORY:
VERONA, A CITY
FOR LOVERS
By www.italia.it
In a stretch of land designed in
accord with the bends and twists of the River Adige, we find
Verona, a visually-stunning city
of excellence and one of the
49 Italian sites on the UNESCO
World Heritage List. 2,000
years of history encased in an
expanse of 77 sq mi: this is
Verona, site of a completely
harmonious integration of the
finest of artistic elements from
several diverse historical epochs.
Scaliger Dynasty (13th-14th
Centuries).
There is also the Verona that
continued to make its mark
in other periods, from that of
Thanks to its geographic lo- the Communes during the
cation, it was an important Swabian reign, to the French
urban center founded by the and Austrian dominations and
Romans in the First Century then, the Italian Risorgimento.
B.C. Significant traces still remain today of its prodigious It is really a city of many faces
past, including the Arena of whose history can also summathe Roman Theatre, the Gavi rize Italy's own history – think of
Arch at Porta Borsari, and the the works left by the Romans,
archaeological site at Porta Le- the Medieval streets and the
oni. Invaded and occupied for palazzi of the Renaissance.
a significant length of time by
the Barbarians, the city lived its The city’s commercial hub is
maximum splendor under the
14 | WE THE ITALIANS
www.wetheitalians.com
Piazza delle Erbe, where the
original Roman Forum was located.
This piazza represents the
synthesis of several different
historic moments; such is affirmed by the 13th-Century buildings – among which Casa dei
Mercanti (House of Merchants) stands out - the painted
facades of the Mazzanti Houses, and the Madonna Verona
Fountain, with its central statue
from the Roman Epoch.
Also dating back to Roman
times is the monument that
is most symbolic of Verona,