Verona Highlight: Castelvecchio

Castelvecchio literally means the old castle. On the westside of downtown Verona, along the Adige river, lies Castelvecchio. On one of our first visits to Verona, Angie and I got to explore the outdoor building, as well as the ancient pedestrian bridge that stretches across the Adige River. There is also a musuem that is housed within its centuries old walls. We'll explore that when we move there. The building is a great example of the Gothic architecture of the age. The castle was once surrounded by water from the Adige, but now is surrounded only by an empty ditch. It is built out of red brick and is composed of seven towers, a highly elevated keep that has four buildings within it. The construction was carried out by one of the Scalgieri family who led Verona for several centuries. The family member who oversaw this period was called Cangrande II. Cangrande literally means "Big Dog". The leaders of that time period took the names of dogs in the Verona area. Not sure why, but there are a couple of theories that I will share with you in a future Verona Highlight.

Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia about Castelvecchio:

The castle stands on the probable location of a Roman fortress outside the Roman
city. Lord Cangrande II della Scala had it built along with its bridge across the Adige
River as a deterrent to his powerful neighbors such as Venice, the Gonzaga and the Sforza families. Construction was carried out between 1354 and 1376 (Cangrande died in 1359). The fortified bridge was intended to allow the seigniors to escape safely northwards to the Tyrol in the event of a rebellion or a coup d'état (the Scaligeri were allies of the Holy Roman Empire) and when they eventually lost their hold on Verona, its surviving members left Italy to found a German branch of the family.
Later, during the Venetian domination, slits were added to defend it with cannons. The castle was damaged by French troops during the Napoleonic Wars (1796-7), in retaliation to the Pasque Veronesi, when the local population staged a violent anti-French revolt. Napoleon had chosen to stay in Castelvecchio on his trips to Verona, but his widespread and arbitrary requisitions of citizens' and churches' property,
the massive draft of male workers into the French army prompted the resistance
that eventually drove out the invaders.
Under the Austrians, Castelvecchio was turned into barracks. In 1923 the castle was restored, as well as in 1963-1965. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castelvecchio_(Verona)

Here is a link to the English version webpage from the city of Verona about Castelvecchio:

http://www.comune.verona.it/turismo/Passeggiando/inglese/itineraryA/castelvecchio.htm

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Verona Highlight: Toccati Games Festival

Every year in Verona, there is a games festival. It is taking place this weekend and we wish we could go to it, but next year if God wills, we will be living in Verona and we can go then. I have been reading about it and I thought it would be a great Verona Highlight focus.

The festival takes place throughout the historic downtown Verona area all throughout the streets. All kinds of traditional games going on, as well as foods and entertainment from places all around the world. Our team has talked about the possibility of being part of this in the future to some degree.

Apparently they have guest countries' contribute traditional games and more. This year's guest country is Croatia. This is from their website.... “The guest country is Croatia. The Croatians have suggested about fifteen of its traditional games, musical groups and typical dishes of a land that is turning itself around and showing itself again after a time of war.”

Here is the Tocati official website and its in English too! http://www.tocati.it/lang/en/home.php.

Verona Highlight: Arena in Piazza Bra

In the second in this series of Verona Highlights, I want to tell you a little bit about the Arena in Verona.

From the City of Verona website (http://www.comune.verona.it/turismo/Passeggiando/inglese/itineraryA/arena.htm)

"THE ARENA
The Romans built the Amphitheatre outside Verona's first circle of city walls in the first part of the 1st century AD. It hosted games where gladiators would fight each other or wild animals before a vast public that came from all over the territory. The Arena held around 30,000 spectators and had four main entrances, corresponding to its two axes."

"The facade, of which there is still a small section (the so-called "Ala" or "Wing"), was entirely built in large blocks of white and pink limestone from nearby Valpolicella. In the Middle Ages, stones from the Arena were taken for use on other buildings. Later, it resumed its role as a site for shows and events: a role it continues to play today for the annual summer opera season, which began in 1913."

On our last trip to Verona, we went inside the arena. They charge about 7 dollars to get in and then you can go inside and explore. You can walk up all the steps to the top, stand at the edge and see Verona all around you. They were setting up for an opera for that evening. Here are some of our pictures.

Verona Highlight: Piazza delle Erbe Markets

As we share with you the work in progress, we want to introduce you to the city where we will be living. So, we will post highlights that describe in word and photos about different areas of Verona. So for this first highlight, we will be talking about the "Piazza Delle Erbe". A piazza is like a town square that serves many functions. Meeting place, community center, an area dedicated to local cafes & restaurants, concert hall, etc.....

From the City of Verona website (http://www.comune.verona.it/turismo/Passeggiando/inglese/itineraryA/erbe.htm), here is the description of the Piazza Delle Erbe.

"PIAZZA DELLE ERBE
The Forum, centre of city life during Roman times, was situated here. The Piazza delle Erbe has continued to fill this same role for centuries: meeting place, home to the market, and also home to the city's administration. The centre of the square contains the monuments that symbolise the different rulers of Verona: the most famous is the fountain, built using a Roman statue during Scaligeri rule and later known as the "Madonna Verona". On the far side of the square are the 14th century Gardello Tower and the Baroque Palazzo Maffei. The courtyard of the Palazzo del Comune leads on to the Lamberti Tower with its suggestive panoramic views over the city."

As for the market, you can still find fresh fruits and vegetables. Here are some pictures...