Verona and Padua

In August 2014, our accommodation was in the Albergo Aurora at the Piazza dell'Erbe in the middle of Verona. From the hotel you have a beautiful view of the busy hustle and bustle

of the piazza. Adjacent to the hotel are the Palazzo Maffei, the Torre del Gardello, a Venetian stately column with the Lion of St. Mark, the Piazza dei Signori with its magnificent medieval buildings and the Torre dei Lamberti, from where you have a wonderful view of the city.

We enjoyed the historical performance of "Aida" from 1913, an acoustic and visual highlight in four acts. The Arena di Verona, a former Roman Anfiteatro, is located on the Piazza Bra. On the central square the touristic business pulsates. Adjacent is the Palazzo Gran Guardia, where we visited an exhibition about the painter Paolo Veronese (1528 to 1588).

Verona is surrounded on three sides by the Adige River, over which 10 bridges span. In the traffic-calmed city centre, you can find everywhere relics of the Romans, Ostrogoths, Longobards, Carolingians and the Scaligeri with the imposing Castelvecchio. Inevitably one also finds the Casa di Guilietta, the magical attraction for romantics of Juliet and Romeo.

Verona has four famous churches. The Gothic brick church of Sant'Anastasia impresses with a double portal, the Romanesque basilica of San Zeno Maggiore with a magnificent cloister. The Gothic converted Duomo Santa Maria Matricolare houses the altarpiece "Assunta" by Titian. The church of San Fermo Maggiore was built over the early Christian Chiesa inferiore and has a vaulted wooden ceiling as Chiesa superiore. The Renaissance garden "Giardino Guisti" on the opposite bank of the Adige invites you to relax.

For one day we visited the neighbouring Padua, a venerable university town with long arcades and nice shops. Interesting are the Capella degli Scrovegni with well restored frescos by Giotto (1303 to 1305) and the Teatro Anatomico as the oldest auditorium in the world. The seven-row hall is tiny and steep. In "Il Salone" at the Piazza della Ragione, culinary sales rooms invite you to visit.

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