Stop 1: Piazza delle Erbe
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 frescoed 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. On the southern side is the crenellated
Casa dei Mercanti ("House of the Merchants", also known as Domus Mercatorum), now the seat of the Banca Popolare di Verona. Other
buildings, the tall houses of the Ghetto, are reminiscent of medieval tower-houses. The square's most ancient monument is the fountain
(built in 1368 by Cansignorio della Scala), surmounted by a statue called Madonna Verona, which is however a Roman sculpture dating
to 380 AD. Towards Via Cappello is another column, with a 14th-century aedicula with reliefs of the Virgin and the Saints
Zeno, Peter and Christopher.
Torre dei Lamberti Is the tallest medieval tower in Verona at 84 meters. Construction of the tower was started in 1172.
In May 1403 the top of the tower was struck by lightning, but the restoration works didn't start until 1448 and took 16 years.
During that time, the tower was enlarged: The more recent sections can be recognized today by the use of different materials
(such as marble). The large clock was added in 1779. The tower has two bells: the Marangona signals fires, work times, and the
hours of the day, while the largest, called Rengo, is used to call the population to arms or to invoke the city's councils.
Stop 2: Piazza dei Signori
The Piazza dei Signori was the former centre of power in Verona. Around the beautiful square are located all important main buildings
of the former city government, including the court and the seat of power of the Scaliger family. A large statue of the famous Italian
poet Dante Alighieri has dominated the square since 1865 and gave the square the nickname “Piazza Dante”.
The Loggia del Consiglio is the most magnificent building at the Piazza dei Signori. Diagonally opposite the Palazzo del Comune,
It was built in 1476. The statues on the roof depict famous Italians who are thought to have been born in Verona: Gaius Valerius Catullus,
Pliny the Elder, Aemilius Macer, Marcus Vitruvius Pollio and Cornelius Nepos.
The Palazzo del Podestà, also called Palazzo del Governo, is next to the Loggia del Consiglio. It was once the seat of power of
the Scaliger family.
The Casa della Pièta is a simple Renaissance building whose special feature is a bas-relief on the façade. It shows a seated
woman with a flag – the symbol of the city of Verona during the rule of Venice.
The Arco della Tortura is so named because the torture instruments of the Veronese judges hung here. The arch connects the Palazzo
del Podestà with the Palazzo dei Tribunali.
The Palazzo dei Tribunali (the court) is connected by an arch to the Palazzo del Comune and dates from 1575. The Porta Bombardiera,
decorated with two cannons, is in the palace courtyard.Here you will also find excavations of the Roman foundations with parts of a mosaic
floor.
The Palazzo dei Giudici is at the top end of the Piazza dei Signori. The court of Verona has been based here since 1731.
Stop 3: Scaliger Tombs
The Scaliger Tombs (Italian: Arche scaligere) is a group of five Gothic funerary monuments celebrating the Scaliger family who ruled
in Verona from the 13th to the late 14th century. The tombs are located in a court outside the church of Santa Maria Antica, separated
from the street by a wall with iron grilles. Built in Gothic style, they are a series of tombs, mostly freestanding open tabernacle-like
structures rising high above the ground, with a sarcophagus surmounted by an elaborate baldachin, topped by a statue of the deceased,
mounted and wearing armour. The tombs are placed within an enclosure of wrought iron grilles decorated with a stair motif, referring
to the name of the della Scala family, meaning "of the stairs" in Italian. The stone pillars of the enclosure have statues of saints.
Stop 4: Verona Cathedral
Verona Cathedral (Italian: Cattedrale Santa Maria Matricolare; Duomo di Verona) is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Verona. It
was erected after two Palaeo-Christian churches on the same site had been destroyed by an earthquake in 1117. Built in Romanesque style,
the plan has remained unchanged through several renovations. The façade is divided into three parts, with a pediment and a two storied projecting
porch or protiro embellished with sculpture. The portico is supported on the backs of two griffins. The lunette depicts the Virgin holding the
Christ child in high relief, centered between two low relief scenes, the Annunciation to the Shepherds (left) and the Adoration of the Magi
(right). On the lintel in medallions are the three theological virtues, Faith, Charity and Hope. Ten figures of prophets are set in the
doorposts and jambs; the four symbols of the Evangelists and the Hand of God are set above in the barrel vault of the first story of the porch.
Set into the walls on either side of the portal are figures of Roland and Oliver, who as holy warriors, remind one of the constant need to
provide protection to the church. The Gothic windows in the façade provide evidence of the renovation that took place in the 14th century. The
Baroque addition at the upper part of the facade is part of 17th-century additions. On the south side of the church is a second portal executed
in the so-called Lombard or Como style. The main apse has retained its integrity and as such is an example of mid-12th-century architecture.
The bell tower, begun in the 16th century and left unfinished, has two orders of columns with highly decorated capitals, bas-reliefs
and traces of 14th-century frescoes. It contains nine bells. The current appearance of the interior dates from the 15th-century renovations. The
Chapter Library (Biblioteca Capitolare della Cattedrale di Verona) is claimed to be the world's oldest library in continuous function.
Stop 5: Castel San Pietro
What everyone calls the Castle is actually an Austrian barracks built – between 1854 and 1856 – similar to a castle so to be in harmony with the
existing Scaliger walls. The location on the San Pietro hill allowed the Austrians to dominate the city. For this reason, already during the Iron Age,
a first residential nucleus was created on the hill. During Roman times, a sacred and fortified place was built beyond the river to guard the passage of the Via
Postumia and the urban center on the Adige.
The Giusti family moved to Verona from Tuscany. In 1406 Provolo Giusti purchased a piece of land next to the ancient Postumian Way,
the main east-west thoroughfare across the Po valley, and for the next two centuries this patch of ground – the site of
the present garden – was used to boil the enormous cauldrons of dye in which wool was soaked before being laid out to dry. The factory buildings were
replaced during the course of the sixteenth century by an elegant palazzo. Behind it, a formal garden was laid out with low hedges, cypress trees,
fountains and grottoes.