Posted on 27.06.2013, 07.04.2014
At the time when was happening the action of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Verona reached its maximum prosperity, under the rule of the Scaliger family and particularly under Cangrande I, who protected the exiled poet Dante. Situated at the foot of Monte Lessini on the River Adige, in northern Italy, the city became important because it was at the intersection of several roads. Founded by ancient tribes and became a Roman colony in the 1st century BCE, was occupied by the Ostrogoths, by the Lombards, and by Charlemagne (774). In the early 12th century, it became an independent commune, but it fell to Venice in 1405, was part of the Austrian Empire from 1797, and joined the Kingdom of Italy in 1866. Because is an outstanding example of a town that has developed progressively and uninterruptedly over 2,000 years, incorporating artistic elements of the highest quality from each succeeding period, was designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.
The core of the city consists of the Roman town, which includes the Porta Borsari, the Porta Leoni, the Arco dei Gavi, the Ponte Pietra, the Roman theatre (excavated in the mid-19th century and restored for use in spectacles), and the Amphitheatre Arena (the second-largest after the Colosseum in Rome). The Scaligers rebuilt the walls, embracing a much larger territory in the west and another vast area on the east bank of the river. The heart of Verona is the ensemble consisting of the Piazza delle Erbe (with its picturesque vegetable market) and the Piazza dei Signori, with their historic buildings, including the Palazzo del Comune, Palazzo del Governo, Loggia del Consiglio, Arche Scaligere and Domus Nova. The Piazza Bra has a number of classicist buildings.
In the Romanesque period (8th-12th centuries), the church of San Giovanni in Valle was built on the ruins of previous buildings. The elevations of the church of San Lorenzo consist of a mixture of materials, tuff in the lower parts, and tuff and brick alternating in the upper part. The church of San Fermo was built from tuff and brick on the remains of an earlier basilica of the 8th century. The cathedral (Duomo) was first built in the 6th century but rebuilt in the 12th century after an earthquake. The facade, completed in the 14th century, is in Verona marble and has bas-reliefs representing sacred and profane episodes of different types. During the Scaliger period (13th-14th centuries), the church of Sant'Anastasia was built by the Dominicans; its facade remained incomplete. Castelvecchio is the fortified residence of the Scaliger family, built at the time of Cangrande II over a previous fortification. The House of Juliet is a small genuine medieval palace; a balcony was added in the 1930s, inspired by Shakespeare's drama. The House of Romeo is a medieval complex, greatly transformed in later periods, and relatively little remains from the original building.
About the stamp I wrote here.
References
Verona - Wikipedia
City of Verona - UNESCO official website
sender 1: Ana
sent from Padua (Veneto / Italy), on 16.08.2012
photo: Dino Pansaroli
sender 2: Marius Vasilescu
sent from Venice (Veneto / Italy), on 16.04.2012
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