Art & culture
Once you leave Hotel Due Torri your journey in discovery of this wonderful town begins a short distance away from the hotel with the itinerary’s first stage: Cattedrale Santa Maria Matricolare. Hidden amongst townhouses Verona’s cathedral stands out with its Romanesque architecture supplemented and radically remodelled in the Gothic and Renaissance eras.
Returning towards the centre we pass the Arche Scaligere, a funerary complex in Gothic style which holds the tombs of the most important members of the Della Scala family which long ruled over Verona.
Just a short distance away we come across the first ‘Shakespearian’ site, Romeo’s house, a characteristically fine medieval building with a wonderful courtyard. The house belonged to the Montecchi family and melds Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance styles.
Returning to the Arche Scaligere we are catapulted into Piazza dei Signori and once here we cannot avoid noting the arch which links it to Piazza delle Erbe.
Piazza delle Erbe is one of Italy’s most characteristic and best known squares. Sited on the location of what was, in the Middle Ages, one of the hubs of the town’s economic and political life - and thus once its Roman forum - it is now the historic centre’s beating heart.
Piazza delle Erbe is the site of one of the town’s most panoramic points, a tower whose 84 metres of height combines a mixture of materials and styles which enliven a whole of unrivalled beauty. Don’t miss the chance to climb up Torre dei Lamberti to admire views across the whole of Verona from a unique and unusual perspective.
Verona is truly a town in which history and literature meld into one, in which the legend of impossible and ill-fated love took shape and catapulted it to world fame, thanks also to one of its most celebrated sites: Juliet’s house.
Just a few metres from Piazza delle Erbe, on foot along Via Cappello, one of the town’s most graceful streets, takes you to Juliet’s famous house. Before you even go into the courtyard you will notice the unusual nature of the place with its walls covered with love letters and notes left by lovers from all over the world. This is where the famous balcony from which Shakespeare has Juliet hear Romeo’s declaration of love.
Just a short way away from Juliet’s house is Via Mazzini, Verona’s main street linking Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza Bra: it is the ideal street for shopping with all the main fashion and luxury brands and dazzling classical architecture all the way along Via Mazzini.
Verona’s main claim to fame worldwide is its Roman arena in massive and majestic Piazza Bra. Piazza Bra is one of Italy’s largest and most beautiful squares and Verona’s beating heart. It is flanked by Palazzo della Gran Guardia, now an exhibition and conference venue, Palazzo Barbieri, the town hall, and Verona’s Arena in the middle.
Symbol of the town, Verona's Arena attracts thousands of visitors every year and not only for its history and beauty. It also draws people in with its important events and concerts as the third largest Roman arena by seating capacity in Italy after the Colosseum and the Capua Amphitheatre, holding 20,000 spectators, and the only one which is still fully functioning thanks to ongoing maintenance work enabling it to host a wide range of events.
The last stage in our Verona tour is inevitably Castelvecchio and Ponte Scaligero, the bridge across to it and a truly beautiful vantage point from which to admire the Adige river. Just a short distance from the centre the views over the whole town and the Arena are breath-taking and unusual, making it the ideal place from which to watch the sunset or visit the courtyard with its statue in the shape of a dog, symbol of faithfulness, Reggia degli Scaligeri and the Museo Civico di Verona, all absolutely not to be missed.
Drunk on these beauties, history and culture stroll back to Hotel Due Torri where a rich array of traditional culinary delights awaits you at our restaurant. The Due Torri Lounge & Restaurant is a place at which to experience dinners as a taste discovery journey.
