Province of Verona
Verona is one of Italy's most beloved cities, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for an urban fabric spanning two thousand year...
Updated 11 July 2026 · Sources: Conoscenza redazionale interna Trovido su Verona (patrimonio UNESCO, Arena, Castelvecchio, San Zeno, Lago di Garda veronese, Valpolicella, Soave, Lessinia, Bolca)
Province of Verona
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The story of Province of Verona
UNESCO Verona and the Arena
Verona's historic centre was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000, in recognition of two thousand years of uninterrupted urban stratification. The undisputed symbol of the city is the Arena, a 1st-century Roman amphitheatre built just outside the original walls, today one of the best-preserved in the world and among the largest by capacity. Built of pink Valpolicella limestone, the Arena once hosted gladiator fights and now stages the famous opera Festival. Around it, Piazza Bra, the city's largest square, is the drawing room from which the Liston, the nineteenth-century arcades and palaces recounting successive eras — Roman, Scaligeri, Venetian, Austrian — all radiate. Walking through these places means crossing two thousand years of European history in a few hundred metres.
Romeo and Juliet and the old town
No city in the world is more closely associated with the myth of romantic love than Verona, thanks to Shakespeare, who set the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet here. On Via Cappello stands the famous House of Juliet, with the balcony and courtyard where generations of lovers have left notes and padlocks on the walls. A short walk away, the maze of alleys in the old town leads to Piazza delle Erbe, the ancient Roman forum now a picturesque market square surrounded by frescoed palaces and the Torre dei Lamberti, and to Piazza dei Signori, the heart of Scaligeri power with the statue of Dante and the Palazzo della Ragione. The Scaliger Tombs, the monumental Gothic sepulchres of the Della Scala family, preserve the memory of the lords who ruled Verona in the 14th century, including Cangrande I, patron and military leader.
Castelvecchio and San Zeno
Castelvecchio, a 14th-century Scaligeri fortress overlooking the Adige, is today one of Italy's most important museums thanks to the 1950s restoration by Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa, an intervention that became a manifesto of contemporary museum architecture worldwide. Its halls house collections of sculpture, Venetian painting and ancient weapons, while the walkway across the Scaliger Bridge, rebuilt after its wartime destruction in 1945, offers one of the most striking views of the city. Not far away, the Basilica of San Zeno Maggiore is one of the greatest masterpieces of Italian Romanesque architecture, with its famous bronze door of narrative panels, the rose window known as the Wheel of Fortune, and the triptych of the Madonna with Child attributed to Andrea Mantegna, housed on the high altar.
The Verona shore of Lake Garda
The Verona shore of Lake Garda, known as the Riviera degli Olivi for its olive groves that reach their northernmost limit in Europe here, alternates historic villages with Mediterranean landscapes. Peschiera del Garda, a Venetian fortress included in the UNESCO site of the Venetian Works of Defence, stands at the mouth of the Mincio river; Bardolino and Garda preserve medieval centres facing the water, famous for the red Bardolino DOC wine; Lazise still retains its Scaligeri city walls. Further north, Malcesine, dominated by its Scaliger Castle, is linked by cable car to Monte Baldo, the panoramic balcony over the lake loved by hikers and paragliders. Amid olive groves, historic lemon houses and crystal-clear waters, this stretch of Garda combines lakeside tourism, water sports and historical heritage in a landscape that has enchanted travellers since the Grand Tour.
Valpolicella and Amarone
Northwest of Verona, Valpolicella is one of Italy's most prestigious wine regions, famous above all for Amarone, a red wine made from grapes dried for months on racks according to the traditional method that concentrates sugars and aromas. The morainic hills, shaped by terraces and Venetian villas, also produce Valpolicella Classico, Ripasso, and Recioto, a sweet dessert wine that represents the style's historic origin. Villages such as Fumane, Sant'Ambrogio, San Pietro in Cariano and Negrar dot the territory with historic wineries open for tastings, often housed in sixteenth-century villas. Valpolicella is also a land of walks among vineyards and cherry orchards, with views stretching from the Verona plain to the first hills of the Lessinia.
Soave and its wines
East of Verona lies the Soave area, home to the celebrated white DOCG wine made mainly from Garganega grapes, grown on volcanic and limestone terraces that give the wine its distinctive minerality. The village of Soave, encircled by nearly intact Scaligeri walls, is dominated by its Castle, a medieval fortress open to visitors that offers a panoramic view over the surrounding vineyards. The Soave Wine Route crosses a hilly landscape dotted with historic wineries, many of which preserve centuries-old bush-trained vines, a cultivation technique handed down through generations. Alongside classic Soave, the area also produces Recioto di Soave, the first Italian white wine to earn DOCG status, sweet and complex, ideal paired with aged cheeses and desserts.
Lessinia and Bolca
North of the city, the Lessinia plateau forms a broad regional nature park rising from vine-covered hills to the two-thousand-metre peaks of the Lessini Mountains on the border with Trentino. The karst landscape is dotted with mountain huts, beech woods, sinkholes and the famous Valley of the Sphinxes, with rock formations shaped by erosion. The park's iconic attraction is the Ponte di Veja, a natural rock arch among the largest in Europe, said by tradition to have inspired Dante's vision of Hell. At Bolca, a small village in the Lessinia, the Eocene fossil deposit is among the world's most important for the preservation of fish, plants and insects from around fifty million years ago, now displayed in the Fossil Museum. Lessinia is an ideal destination for trekking and mountain biking, and in winter for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.
Opera at the Arena
Since 1913 the Arena di Verona has hosted the summer Arena Opera Festival every year, one of the world's most important events for open-air opera, drawing up to twenty thousand spectators a night. Monumental stage sets, often signed by great masters of Italian direction, together with the amphitheatre's natural acoustics, make listening to Aida, Nabucco, Turandot or Carmen beneath the stars a unique experience, on the same stone tiers that have hosted performances for centuries. The season, generally running from June to September, turns the city into an international crossroads for opera lovers, with side events, exhibitions and special museum openings. Even outside the season, the Arena remains open to visitors and is one of the unmissable stops on any visit to Verona.
Flavours of Verona
Verona's cuisine blends peasant tradition with Venetian influences, in dishes that reflect the variety of the territory, from the lake to the mountains. Pandoro, the star-shaped Christmas cake born in Verona in the nineteenth century, is now known worldwide. Among the first courses, bigoli with duck and Amarone risotto stand out, while pasta e fagioli alla veronese and polenta, an ever-present accompaniment, speak of the countryside's humble cuisine. Lake fish, especially eel and whitefish from Garda, enriches the table on the province's western shore, while mountain-hut cheeses from the Lessinia, such as Monte Veronese DOP, pair perfectly with local wines. Extra-virgin olive oil from the Riviera degli Olivi and the wines themselves, absolute protagonists, complete every course.
When to go
Verona can be enjoyably visited all year round, but each season offers different experiences. Spring is ideal for the old town and early trips to Lake Garda, with mild temperatures and fewer tourists. Summer, between June and September, is the season of the Arena Opera Festival and lakeside life, but also the hottest and busiest: booking ahead is advisable. Autumn, harvest time in Valpolicella and Soave, offers golden landscapes and the chance to join food and wine festivals, as well as perfect temperatures for hiking in the Lessinia. Winter, quieter, allows visitors to enjoy the Christmas markets in Piazza dei Signori and discover a snow-covered Lessinia, with the possibility of cross-country skiing on the plateau.
Unmissable experiences
- Climb the Torre dei Lamberti for a 360° view over the UNESCO old town
- Visit the Arena and, in summer, attend an opera under the stars
- Photograph Juliet's balcony at the House of Juliet on Via Cappello
- Taste Amarone at a historic winery in Valpolicella
- Climb up to Soave Castle and follow the Wine Route
- Go trekking to the Ponte di Veja and visit the Bolca Fossil Museum
- Take the Malcesine cable car up to Monte Baldo for panoramic views over Lake Garda
- Walk among the Valpolicella vineyards between Fumane and Sant'Ambrogio
To see
What to see in Province of Verona
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