In Fair Verona where we lay our scene is how Shakespeare begins his classic play of the two star crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet. And Verona has been living on the reputation ever since. One cannot go to Verona without stumbling over artifacts (or supposed artifacts) of the story. Yet, Verona is more than just the venue of a teenaged romance gone very wrong.
In the sixth century BC the region of Veneto
was occupied by the Euganei and the Veneti. The region was conquered by the
Romans by the third century BC. By 89 BC, the people in Verona
were give full Roman citizenship. The famous Poet Catullus came to Rome
from Verona. In 312 A.D.
Pompeianus, General of Maxentius was defeated and killed near Verona
by Constantine. The city became
Christian in the 4th century. It became the beloved city of Theodoric,
King of the Ostrogoth kingdom in the middle of the 5th century, then a
Longobardic dukedom and the seat of Pipin, King of Italy under the Carolingian
Empire. In the 11th century Verona
was joined to the Mark of Bavaria and in 1136 it became a municipality. Having
come under the power of Ezzelino da Romano, it came under the dominion of the
Scaliger family, whose rule lasted from 1277 until 1387, when it fell into the
hands of the Viscontis.
According to the legend, popularized by Shakespeare three
centuries later, Romeo Montecchi or Montague and Juliet Capuleti meet and die in
about the year 1302. The Montecchi were Guelphs who supported the Pope; the
Capuleti were Ghibellines who supported the Holy Roman Emperor. In 1405 Verona
voluntarily offered itself to the Venetians, under whose government it remained
until 1796, when the Republic of Venice
was invaded by Napoleon. After the short-lived rule of the Kingdom
of Italy Verona was occupied by the
Austrians in 1814 and returned to the dominion of Italy
in 1866.
Verona was
damaged during the fighting between Austria
and Italy
during the First World War. During the Second World War, the city was heavily
bombed and the bridges destroyed by the Germans to impede the allied advance.
Today, Verona is an industrial town
with a population of over 300,000.
The Roman Arena
The Roman amphitheater, the Arena of Verona is one of the
greatest and most prestigious archeological monuments in Europe.
It is the third largest arena of its kind, with a seating capacity of twenty
thousand. It was built in the first century A.C. during the last years of the
emperor Augustus. From the very beginning of its existence, the Arena of Verona
was a powerful and suggestive place of entertainment, as a venue for
gladiatorial combats and other spectacles. Today the arena is used for plays,
ballets, and operas.