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Verona, a city
characterised by more than two thousand years of history, is
nowadays the second centre in Veneto for its liveliness and for
the importance of its economic activities; moreover it is an
international tourist centre.
The sweet loops of the Adige, that flows through the city, and the
low hills surrounding it at the northern side contribute to
creating an harmoniously beautiful landscape.
Due to its geographical position, Verona was probably an Etruscan
and Euganean centre, but the first certain signs of civilization
date back to the 4th century bC. During the Roman
Empire it was an instrumental political and commercial centre,
whose magnificent traces can still be seen: the Arena,
the Roman
Theatre, the Roman
Arco dei Gavi, Porta
Borsari, the archaeological area near Porta
Leoni and the Scavi
Scaligeri. This area, situated in the middle of the city,
only some meters away from Piazza
Erbe, became in the Middle Age centre of political and
economic power. Here the marks of different historical periods are
harmoniously moulded together: from Roman ruins to magnificent
palaces of the 18th –19th century situated
between medieval buildings, that flourished under the reign of the
Signori Scaligeri, and rinascimental styled buildings.
A very interesting, yet a relatively unknown feature of the city
are the walls, which in some parts are still incredibly well
conserved; especially the most recent segments, where a great part
of the perimeter still exists, conveying a particular aspect to
the city that permits us to build on its history.
While there remains little of the double walls built by the Romans
(only a little segment along the actual via Diaz and a piece of
wall of the Mura di Gallieno near the Arena), the communal walls
between Castelvecchio and Ponte Aleardi, which were rebuilt after
the inundation in 1239, are still in a perfect state of
conservation. The walls perimeter, built by the Signoria Scaligera
and finished in January 1325, enclosed an area of 450 hectares. It
was conserved by the Venetians in the 16th century and
also in the 19th by the Austrians, who made Verona one
of the four fortified cities of the "quadrilatero". The
monumental gates, the walls and the fortification are testimony to
the strategic importance of the city, well protected from external
aggressions.
Moreover Verona has always been synonymous with culture. Numerous
institutions, such as the Biblioteca Civica,
the Biblioteca
Capitolare (whose Scriptorium already existed in
the 6th century aC), the Accademia Filarmonica (the
most antique in the world), the Fondazione
Arena, the Literary
Society, the antique Academy
of Agriculture, Science and Literature, the University
and the Conservatory
maintain its cultural liveliness.
Verona has hosted millions of visitors, many of them very famous,
for example Dante, Mozart, Goethe, Ruskin. Nowadays Verona
attracts people from everywhere thanks to the Arena, the myth of
Romeo and Juliet and its precious beauty. |
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