Rated Attractions & Things to Do in Verona

A brick church from the late 13th century, Sant'Anastasia towers above a little piazza in the heart of Verona and is the city's finest example of Gothic architecture. Over its portal are scenes from the life of St. Peter carved in stone, and above them, a 15th-century fresco.

The cathedral is a 12th-century Romanesque basilica with a 15th-century Gothic nave. Adjoining it is a campanile on a Romanesque base, designed by Sanmicheli but not completed until 1927. On the beautiful main doorway of the cathedral are figures of Charlemagne's two paladins, Roland and Oliver, done between 1139 and 1153.

The arena forms one side of the wide Piazza Brà, opposite the Palazzo Malfatti, created by Michele Sanmicheli. Adjoining the long building of the Gran Guardi, the old guard-house from 1614, is the gate and tower of I Portoni della Brà, the landmark entry point to Piazza Bra and the old city. Beneath its Romanesque arches is a bust of William Shakespeare and his lines from Romeo and Juliet beginning "There is no world without Verona walls..."

The lovely little church of Santa Maria Antica was completed in the 12th century and became the family church of the della Scala princes, who ruled Verona in the 13th and 14th centuries. Their imposing Gothic tombs almost overshadow it, topped by their effigies in full armor. Look for their symbol: the ladder (scala) was the heraldic emblem of the family and frequently recurs in the elaborate wrought-iron railings.

Accessed through an archway from Piazza delle Erbe, Piazza dei Signori is surrounded by palaces, and in the middle stands a monument to Dante erected in 1865. The Palazzo della Ragione (Town Hall), on the south side of the piazza was begun in 1193 but altered in later centuries. The main front of the building is Renaissance, dating to 1524. In the courtyard are a Gothic grand staircase from 1446-50 and the entrance to the Torre dei Lamberti.

The central feature of Verona's Centro Storico is the rectangular Piazza delle Erbe, one of the most picturesque squares in Italy. It stands on the site of the Roman forum and is now a fruit and vegetable market. In the center of the square is the 16th-century Berlina, a canopy on four columns, formerly used for elections. To the north of it is a fountain from 1368 with the Madonna di Verona, an ancient marble statue that was repurposed in medieval times.

The large 11-12th century Basilica of San Zeno Maggiore is considered the finest Romanesque building in northern Italy. The beautiful main front of alternating strata of brick and white tufa is flanked by a slender Romanesque campanile (1045-1178) and the 14th-century battlemented defensive tower of a former Benedictine abbey.

Verona is perhaps best known internationally as the setting for Shakespeare's famous tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. Inevitably, tourists asked where the star-crossed lovers lived, and Veronese obligingly pointed out a small medieval palazzo just off Piazza delle Erbe that had an attractive courtyard where tourists could stand without blocking the street.

One of the largest of its kind and among the best preserved Roman amphitheaters, Verona's arena was built in the reign of Diocletian, about 290 CE. Only four arches of the outer wall on the north side have survived, but the vaulting and seating are intact and in regular use.

On the banks of the Adige, Castelvecchio was built by the Scaligeri in 1354-55, an impressive defensive fortress certain to remind any rivals of the power of the della Scala family. Crossing the river is the beautiful castellated Ponte Scaligero, a 14th-century bridge that's traffic free and among the locals' favorite places to go for a stroll.