Corner La Trin: Heritage City

I stood up and we headed out onto the streets of Verona. The now familiar scene of the Arena in the square was really a sight to be seen. The Arena is the iconic symbol of Verona. Built in the 1st century BC, making it more than 2000 years old. It was enormous and I could imagine the chariot races and gladiator combat that once took place thousands of years ago. I felt really privileged to be here.

We walked to the City Sightseeing Verona bus stop of the square and waited for the bus to come. We had decided to do a hop on - hop off tourist bus in Verona. That way, we could get lots of information and history about Verona and secondly, we could choose the sights we want to spend more time at.

I was handed a pair of earphones and then I was leaded to the top level by my mum. We settled into a pair of seats and plugged the earphones in. First there was a bit of information about the bus company, and then the actual information started flooding in.

I had learned so much in an hour! There was the fact that Romeo and Juliet was set in Verona, and that Shakespeare wasn't the first to write it. I learned that Verona was the intersection of four important roads back in the ancient days. I learned that Verona used to be ruled by the Austrians and Napoleon. I learned that Verona has a lot of military strongholds. I learned a lot of stuff.

We saw a lot of Veronese architecture. Verona is a very old city and in fact, because of it's historical significance, Verona has been heritage listed by UNESCO in 2000. The buildings are very old fashioned. They are three or four stories and are very narrow. A lot of them are painted orange too. Really beautiful.

We got off at one of the stops and walked down that road. We reached Juliet and Romeo's balcony. It was PACKED! People EVERYWHERE. We went into the building that led up to the balcony and bought our tickets. I couldn't believe it when I realized I was standing on the balcony. I felt so relaxed and tranquil. I had never known that Juliet and Romeo had been real! I always thought there were pure fictional characters made up by Shakespeare. Shakespeare wrote the story based on the stories passed on by Venetian traders. Amazing.

We walked down the street and crossed the bridge. We had decided that we wanted to see the ruins of the ancient Roman Amphitheater. I was a little bit intimidated by it. Sure, it was a ruin, but it was very big. There were also statues in it. We looked at them for a long time. I imagined how the Romans used to just take this place for granted, but how we nowadays really admire it. It really made me appreciate it.

Next, we decided to head to the Castellovecchio. It was a castle used back in the ancient days. We wandered into it and started meandering around. It was very beautiful. The red brick made it look imposing and intimidating, but the graceful and gentle green gardens gave it an elegant and peaceful look. We walked onto the bridge that led out of it and took hundreds of pictures. I even climbed up to the second level and posed. Awesome!

Finally, twilight was creeping in from behind the trees and secured its place. We reached the hotel and prepared for bed. We settled in, and sleep engulfed us in a soft embrace.

During the 2 days in Verona, we saw lots of historical sites like The Renaissance Duomo, Old Bridges, Piazza Brà, City Wall, Tomb of Juliet and others. I really enjoyed Verona and I would recommend this heritage city to any traveler to Italy!

The almighty Arena!