Verona Photos

The Arena was built in the first century AD in Verona when it was part of the Roman Empire.  While it was left to ruins in the Middle Ages, at the start of the Renaissance, its cultural significance led to the preservation of the structure.  The restoration and care has allowed it to be in use even today as a theater for operas and Shakespeare plays inspired by Verona's connection to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

This second largest arena (behind Rome's Coliseum) used the same ticketing system with numbers at the top of each arch to indicate the entrance to be used by ticket holders.

In ancient Rome, the Arena was used for gladiator battles in the same way as other structures throughout the empire.

While it was outside of the original city walls during the Roman Empire, as the city grew in the Middle Ages, it expanded to surround the Arena.

The Arena is still used today to host shows.  When I visited Verona, the stage crew was moving set pieces into place for an upcoming opera.  The large pieces are stored in the square behind the Arena and they used a crane to place the pieces over the walls of the structure.

Many sections of the original Roman city walls are standing and can be seen among buildings and along streets where the city grew around them.

Piazza delle Erbe is a market square that has has open air market stalls that have been selling foods and other goods since it was known as Domus Mercatorum in ancient Rome.

Many of the buildings have statues, reliefs, mosaics, or paintings of the Virgin Mary on their corner. This was commonly used as a means of protection and as a blessing on the home.