Scopri la città sulle due ruote

Piazza Bra is the starting point of our tour. Along the western edge of the wide square is the so-called “Liston”.
This wide stone pavement is the traditional place for the Veronese to stroll; to the east is Palazzo Barbieri, the town hall, and to the south, the Palazzo della Gran Guardia, built between the 16th and 19th centuries, and today, following complete renovation in 2001, the site of exhibitions and conferences. Abutting the Palazzo della Gran Guardia is the impressive city gate to Piazza Bra, dating from the late 14th century, when the Visconti family from Milan ruled Verona. From near the gate you may enter the Maffeiano Lapidary Museum, one of the oldest public museums in Europe; established in 1745. Its holdings of Greek, Etruscan, paleo- Venetian, Roman and Arabic stone carvings were collected by Scipione Maffei, an 18th century Veronese scholar.

The glorious focal point of the piazza is the impressive Arena. A first century AD Roman amphitheatre and the symbol of the city. Most of the outer ring of the Arena was destroyed by earthquakes in 1117 and 1183. However, a 30 metre-high segment survives, known as the “ala” (wing). At the time of its construction in the 1st century AD, the Arena was just beyond the city’s original walls and could accommodate 30,000 spectators – a number greater than the population of Verona at that time. By the 3rd century AD, to defend against invasions, the Emperor Gallienus ordered the city walls be extended to include it.

In 1913, under the initiative of the Veronese tenor Giovanni Zenatello, and in the presence of composers like Puccini, Boito and Mascagni, and writers like Franz Kafka, the Arena was the setting for a performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida. Since this inaugural performance in 1913, the Arena’s annual summer opera tradition has continued unbroken, except for the period of the two world wars.

Returning in the direction of the Maffeiano Museum, and without passing under the Visconti gate, turn right into Via Roma. At number 31 is Palazzo Carli, military command centre during the Austro-Hungarian occupation in the 19th century.

It was here, in 1866, that the act mandating the Austrian withdrawal from Verona following the Third War of Independence was signed.

At the end of Via Roma is a monument to Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour (Risorgimento statesman) – the statue was placed here in 2012. We will soon return to the Scaliger castle, but now turn left and then, at the traffic lights, turn right onto the Rigaste San Zeno.

The term Rigaste, in Veronese dialect, refers to the raised river bank that runs along the Adige. Go up to the raised pavement using the ramp (walk your bike). From here you can enjoy beautiful views. A short distance from the bike access ramp – at the end of the moat surrounding the castle – is the bell tower of the church of San Zeno in Oratorio, one of the oldest churches dedicated to St. Zeno, the patron saint of Verona. This small 12th century church hosts the river boulder upon which, according to legend, Zeno lingered while fishing along the Adige.

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