Verona: City of love and so much more

Pink marble streets, balconies overflowing with flowering green plants, bambini decked out in Valentino, showing off their fashion from their strollers as their parents take a long, slow pre-dinner passeggiata through the small city…this is the Verona I discovered and fell in love with when I visited in late January, and again in March. Where else can you enjoy a three euro spritz overlooking the main piazza, after spending the day admiring the best-preserved Roman arena and wandering the halls of Castelvecchio, admiring innumerable Madonna col Bambini and hitting the castle wall right at golden hour over the Adige River? You may just need the spritz to get over the shock of walking underneath the intricate marble tombs of the Scaligeri family raised high in the sky. Either way, once the Aperol slides its way down your throat, you’ll find yourself reflecting on the city with only thoughts of admiration and love.

Verona is an easily accessible city, a friendly taste of small-town Italy (although Shakespeare, and later the movie “Letters to Juliet,” turned it into quite a tourist destination as the home of Romeo and Juliet). But regardless of this fame, Verona has a relaxed and quiet feel that is a welcome change of pace from the bustling cities of Florence or Rome. It is an easy stop on your way North, if you’re Venice-bound and want to get a different taste of Italy, not to mention a cheaper glass of Valpolicella (my favorite full-bodied red from the Veneto region which is sadly hard to find for under $20 a bottle in the states).  It’s hard not to fall in love with this city at first sight, because if you’ve ever imagined or daydreamed what Italy must look like, Verona fits the bill more than any other place.

I had the privilege of visiting this city twice, and the first time my friends and I stayed overnight in a cute Airbnb with river views (a surprise bonus!). I don’t think any of us slept a wink that night, our first night away from our adoptive home of Florence and our first venture out on our own.

We walked to all the main sights of the city within our first few hours of arrival, but made sure to take our time wandering and allow ourselves to be enchanted by the beautiful balconies and the hints at love inspired by Romeo and Juliet. We also took time for a long lunch, opting to sit outside under heaters and blankets offered to us by our generous waiter, who took great care of us. I had one of the best gnocchi dishes of my life and wasn’t even scared by the bill, even though our seating was prime piazza real estate.

Before checking into our aforementioned Airbnb for the night, we crossed over Ponte Pietra, a great symbol of pride for the Veronese who waded in the river to save the pieces of marble after the bridge was bombed during World War II. Thus it was rebuilt with old and new stone, a large-scale mosaic of history. It’s hard not to admire the Italians for the preservation of their history, especially in the face of war and looting Nazis.

The second time I visited Verona, I felt relaxed by the city’s atmosphere once more, and was able to come to the conclusion that Piazza Erbe is one of my favorite piazze in all of Italy. Because my friend and I had seen the sights (and already rubbed Juliet’s bronze boob for luck in our love lives), we decided to spend two hours over a leisurely lunch with another friend. We had a glass of Volpicella with our pizza, followed by an espresso. It felt luxurious but totally normal at the same time. Our waiter was cute and friendly and I wish we could’ve lingered longer, but our professors and a waiting train to Venice beckoned us. I made sure I didn’t leave without first purchasing a five euro imitation painting of my favorite piazza, a perfectly pleasant place I wouldn’t mind returning to, again and again.