Verona is a city and provincial capital in Veneto, Northern Italy. The ancient town and the center of the modern city are in a loop of the Adige River near Lake Garda
Verona is famous for its Roman amphitheatre, the Arena, completed around 30 AD, which is the third largest in Italy, after Rome's Colosseum and the arena at Capua. It measures 139 meters long and 110 meters wide, and could seat some 25,000 spectators in its 44 tiers of marble seats. The ludi (shows and gladiator games) performed within its walls were so famous that they attracted spectators from far beyond the city. The Basilica of San Zeno Maggiore [is considered one of the great achievements of Romanesque architecture. The present structure is the 3rd on this site, built from 1123-1135, over the 4th century shrine to Verona's patron saint, St. Zeno (died 380). The splendid façade dominates the large square, and is flanked with a beautiful 72 meter tall bell tower, which is mentioned by Dante in Canto 18 of Purgatory in the Divine Comedy. The small Romanesque Basilica of San Lorenzo is one of the finest and most important in the city. Its dates from around 1177, but is built on the site of a Paleochristian church, some fragments of which remain
The name of Verona is also known throughout the world because of Shakespeare's tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. The places where, according to the tradition, the two young lovers lived and died are visited by thousands of tourists and lovers every year. Only a few paces from Piazza Erbe, at number 27 of Via Cappello, there is the Juliet's House (La Casa di Giulietta), once owned by the Dal Cappello, or Capulet, family. A small marble balcony records the most famous verses of Shakespeare's tragedy, in which Romeo declares his love for Juliet as she stands on the balcony. Again according to the legend, this was the house where the beautiful Juliet the most famous of all Shakespeare's heroines, lived. It probably dates back to the 13th century, and has a brick façade with large trilobate windows.
