Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
VERONA
POP 263,950
Shakespeare placed star-crossed Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet in Verona for good
reason: romance, drama and fatal family feuds have been the city's hallmark for centuries.
From the 3rd century BC, Verona was an important Roman trade centre, with ancient
gates, a forum (now Piazza delle Erbe) and a grand amphitheatre - but Shakespearean
tragedy came with the territory. In the Middle Ages, the city flourished under the fratricidal
Della Scala family, who were as much energetic patrons of the arts as they were murderous
tyrants. After Mastino della Scala (aka Scaligeri) lost re-election to Verona's commune in
1262, he claimed absolute control, until murdered by his rivals.
His son, Cangrande I (1308-28), went on to conquer Padua and Vicenza, with Dante,
Petrarch and Giotto benefitting from the city's patronage. But the fratricidal rage of Can-
grande II (1351-59) saw the family run out of town in 1387, leaving behind them a host of
elaborate family tombs, the Arche Scaligere. Between 1405 and 1797, Venice took definit-
ive control, before briefs spells under Napoleon and Austria, prior to the Unification of
Italy in 1861.
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