by Dr. Kerry Phelan (@KerryLPhelan on X/Twitter)
I first went to Italy on a school trip in 2001. On the trip we visited Venice, Florence, and Verona. I still remember the thrill of visiting each new city but, back then, my interest in the ancient world hadn’t fully developed into the full blown obsession that it is now.
And so when my husband told me that he had to travel to Verona for work in September 2024, I jumped at the chance to join him for a couple of days. Not because I had any interest in attending Marmomac’s Exhibit on natural stone with him, of course, but because I knew that once I was there I could cajole him into visiting some ancient sites with me.
To keep himself from suspecting any major Classically-themed digressions later in the trip, I did willingly attend part of the trade show on our first morning in Verona. It was held at Veronafiere exhibition centre, approximately about 3km from the city centre. Surrounded by vast conference halls, dedicated entirely to the stone production chain from the quarry to the processed product and packed with stalls selling every conceivable machine part and tool, I eventually managed to find one genuine point of interest at least.
That afternoon, we returned to the city and had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Piazza Brà and facing the stunning Roman Amphitheatre. Obviously, that was my first proper port of call. Predating the Colosseum in Rome, the Amphitheatre was built in the first half of the 1st century AD, in the period which marked the end of the emperor Augustus’ reign and the beginning of Claudius’.
As one of the best preserved ancient structures of its kind, the Amphitheatre has been beautifully preserved and maintained over the last few centuries. It was constructed using white and pink marble which practically glows when the sunlight hits it – which, as you can see from my pictures, it was trying to do in between the rather ominous-looking clouds! The arena itself has huge wide corridors, fifty levels of seating, and underground tunnels, Unfortunately, it has lost most of the facade and only four of the arches from the outer wall remain standing.
Overall, it stands as one of the largest amphitheatres in Italy; its elliptical shape produces perfect acoustics from any stand point and it’s still in use as a modern entertainment venue. Because Claudio Baglioni was performing several live concerts at the Amphitheatre while we were there – if you don’t know him, pop him on your Spotify playlist! – our visit had to be brief so that the event could be set up for the evening.
Thinking that would be the ancient history-themed visit of our trip, my husband was relieved that it was so quick. After the Amphitheatre, we spent the afternoon wandering around the historic centre of the city, known as the Città Antica. Verona is super easy to see on foot. It also has plenty of choice in terms of shopping, and its streets are full to the brim with both locally owned shops and international ones. One of the main shopping areas starts just behind the Roman Amphitheatre in Piazza Brà and ends at Casa di Giulietta.
The Casa di Giulietta is probably one of the most famous places in the city of Verona. Though the building has medieval origins, and belonged to the Cappello family (and not Capulet!) in the 14th century, it came to be referred to as Juliet’s House in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and many visitors began to stop at the site. The famous balcony in the courtyard is the result of assembling marble remains of the 14th century that, until 1920, lay in the Museum of Castelvecchio.
We managed to elbow our way through the crowds to see Juliet’s balcony for ourselves. There was quite a queue of people waiting the enter the Casa di Giulietta itself – for which the tickets are only available online – and presumably an even larger queue for those die-hard fans wanting to go onto the balcony itself. However, we were content with staying in the courtyard.
We then made our way towards the Piazza delle Erbe to stroll through its bustling market stalls and partake in some necessary souvenir shopping. There’s plenty of restaurants surrounding the square too, and we decided to stay here for dinner. We absorbed the wonderful atmosphere with its beautiful buildings, busy market and a constant stream of shoppers passing through. It was very easy to while away the evening by people-watching as the night drew in around us.
The next morning, we took the train to Peschiera del Garda to get the ferry across Lake Garda. My intention was to sail across to Sirmione and to drag my unsuspecting husband to a site that had been on my bucket list for quite some time. But my plans seemed to have been thwarted when, due to some strong winds that morning, all the ferries to the western side of the lake were suspended. With only limited access to the eastern side of the lake, we decided to visit Lazise instead, which was about 15-20 minutes to the north of Peschiera del Garda.
Arriving in Lazise, the first thing we saw were the stone fortifications of the medieval Lazise Castle on the shores of the lake. Although you can’t enter the Castle itself– it’s a private residence – you can stroll along the connected walls that weave through the historical centre.
We spent a couple of hours wandering around the town, even stopping for a lovely lunch on the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, and then headed back to the harbour. When we arrived, I was delighted to find that the ferry service had resumed to Sirmione. Success!! My sneaky trip to the archaeological site on Sirmione was back in play …
Finally on our way to Sirmione, my husband realised what I was up to when the site actually came into view from the ferry. Nonetheless, I dragged my now- grumbling other-half through the town and to the top of the peninsula to visit the largest and most well-preserved Roman villa in northern Italy. The villa is generally known as the Grottoes of Catullus; the Roman poet described the location as the most dear to him of all the islands on both lakes and seas (Catullus 31). Tradition has long associated the villa with Catullus himself, though its not likely that he was the actual owner.
The most recent archaeological surveys have determined that the villa was originally built during the reign of Augustus, in the last decades of the 1st century BC – early 1st century AD, and was subsequently abandoned between the 3rd and 4th centuries AD.
The layout of the villa is rectangular, and spanned three floors. The different floors were supported by substructures, that can be traversed as if porticos, and are partially exposed. There is also a large thermal bath system, built between the end of the 1st and the beginning of the 2nd century AD, with a hypocaust system.
By walking through the olive groves on the site, and looking between the walls of the villa’s remains, visitors are treated to incredible panoramic views over the lake.
There’s also a small but very lovely Archaeological Museum which displays the most significant findings from the past digs on the site. Inside there are many fragments of decorated relief stuccos, with plants and figurative elements, and the black and white mosaic floors taken from villa.
My favourite piece in the Museum was the beautiful marble head of the Dioscuro, dating to the second century AD. It is the only piece of sculpture that has survived from the villa and its gardens.
After spending most of the afternoon at the Grottoes of Catullus, we walked back into the town of Sirmione and took the next ferry to Desenzano del Garda. From here, we took the train back to Verona.
We had set aside time on the penultimate day of the trip to travel to Venice. This was relatively easy to do, and took about an hour and twenty minutes to get to Venezia Santa Lucia. We first made our way towards St. Mark’s Square. The square is surrounded by magnificent buildings, such as the Doge’s Palace, the Clock Tower and, perhaps the most impressive of all, St. Mark’s Basilica.
Afterwards, we headed towards other iconic landmarks like the Rialto Bridge, the oldest and most famous bridge in Venice. The bridge spans the Grand Canal and connects the districts of San Marco and San Polo. And its definitely worth leaving some time to wander around the markets right beside the Bridge.
Even though we only had a few hours there, it is easy to see how Venice enchants its visitors with its unique beauty, charm, and history. But, for me, I really enjoyed getting lost in its meandering streets and seeing sides to the city that were slightly off the beaten track.
The time that we had in Venice really felt like it whizzed by, and we had to return to Verona by train into the Porta Nuova station. We had an early flight home to catch the next day.
Ultimately, I can only hope that my sneaky stunt at Sirmione doesn’t hinder my chances of getting an invite to the Marmomac’s Exhibit next year …!