Verona: Home of the Laughing Saint

At the Arena for Un Ballo

 Last time we were in Italy, we had hoped to travel and see parts of the country other than Tuscany--but somehow, we never acted on those good intentions. Life was just too good in Tuscany.

This time we deliberately planned our trip so that we would see and stay in another region of Italy--more specifically, the Veneto, the area around Venice.  Once again relying on AirBnB, we found a tiny but comfortable studio in Verona, a smaller and less touristy town than Venice.

We are 15 minutes outside Verona centro, but it is easy to take a bus to main square, Piazza Bra.  The highlight(s) of our visit have been attending the operas performed in Verona's ancient Roman Arena.  We have seen four and a concert featuring Placido Domingo.  Placido's show was a disappointment  (rained out at intermission--which didn't bother us except for getting soaked to the skin waiting for a cab), but we thoroughly enjoyed the "spectaculos," of  Turandot, Carmen, Aida, and Un Ballo in Maschera.  Because the Arena's stage is so huge, the productions are very elaborate, often with two or three hundred people in gorgeous costumes singing and dancing across the stage, not to mention horses, fireworks...well, a spectacle.

Verona's Arean 

The Arena was first built in the 3rd Century and once held as many as 20,000 for games and other performances. Now renovated and updated, it makes for a wonderful, if usually very warm, summer evening.  We sit at the very top, sneak in food and drink (which is verboten), read the libretto on our iPhone and grab binoculars when the action on stage gets dramatic and/or particularly stunning.

Piazza Bra

We have gradually gotten to know and enjoy Verona. We like walking through the streets and piazzas.  Its center, Piazza Bra, includes the Arena, a small park, some impressive 17th- and 18th-century public buildings, and lots of restaurants, cafes, and gelaterias.  Evening passeggiato (walk-about on certain streets, chatting and window shopping--a custom we wish Americans would adopt)  is such a nice way to wrap up the day's activities.

Before and after the opera, the square is full of opera-goers--some in full evening dress and others, like us, in typical tourist garb, shorts and a T-shirt.  Italians are a beautiful people, and we see many lovely women and handsome men along with gorgeous little children.

When we get tired of walking, touring or shopping, we always reward ourselves with a gelato.  Who knew there could be so many gelaterias and that they could all have so many different flavors or that the gelato itself could vary so much? We could probably be here a year and not hit all of the stands and certainly not sample all of the flavors.

Costume for Don Gionvanni

We have had two very rewarding, but different museum experiences.  On our first day in the city, we stumbled upon an art exhibition featuring the hometown painter, Paulo Veronese. This was the first time so many of his paintings had been brought together, from museums and collections all over the world. Inclusive, but not overwhelming, it was an enchanting exhibit and a great introduction to Verona and to an artist we really didn't know very well, but will now never forget.

Just this week, our last, we finally got to the Opera Museum, which we thought we would be able to breeze through in half an hour, only to find ourselves fascinated and entertained for nearly three hours by the exhibits about opera and especially its impact on Verona.

The costume and set design exhibits were fantastic as was the use of technology to highlight and display original scores and librettos.  In one exhibit we were able to hear three different sopranos singing the aria, "Un Bel Di," from Madam Butterfly, and follow along in the holograph of Puccini's original score, with the computer showing you each of the notes as it was sung.  Amazing!

Every Italian city and town has an old church or many old churches, usually filled with painting, sculpture and other art, and Verona is no exception. What we found interesting and to some extent different about Verona's churches were the incredible number of frescoes and murals they contain, how intimate they seem, how well preserved some are and, surprisingly, how little security there seems to be.

San Zeno

Our favorite, perhaps, is the Basilica of San Zeno--Verona's patron saint. This lovely romanesque church, besides being the resting place for the "laughing saint" as he is sometimes called, offers some incredibly beautiful frescoes. Many of them are at eye level allowing you to walk up and view them close at hand.  Some have been there since the 13th century.

Weighed down with one's sins

San Zeno may be our favorite, also, as it is very close to our apartment, making it a very easy drive.  We are able to join neighborhood families during the cool of the evening and people watch. One of our favorite restaurants, Il Elefante Blu, is in Piazza Pazza (Crazy Square), just a few steps away. A non-Italian restaurant and thus providing a nice break from pasta, it features south Indian and Ceylonese cuisine.

As our time here comes to a close, we have only one regret.  Just a couple of days ago we discovered that we could have rented bikes for the entire time we have been here--that would have made the city center even more accessible and our forays easier to manage; perhaps next time!