Verona, Verona, wherefore art thou, Verona?

Here are some other pictures and stories from our afternoon in beautiful, ancient Verona.

A few centurions stand outside the arena.


Approaching the Piazza dei Signori from the vegetable market, Piazza delle Erbe.


A statue of Dante Alighieri stands in the Piazza dei Signori, which is why it's sometimes also called Piazza Dante. It's in the heart of Verona's medieval section. Dante spent his years of exile in Verona, as a guest of the ruler, Scaglieri. Here's a closer look at Dante's statue:



Just to the right of Dante in the picture, you can a statue above the arch. This is of Girolamo Fracastoro, a physician, scientist, and poet. Back in the 1500s Girolamo proposed a theory that diseases were caused by microorganisms! The ancient Veronese must have thought him crazy. One of Girolamo's poems centers on a character named Sifilo. That's where we get the word "syphilis." And here's Girolamo:




One of many lions in Verona. The lion is the symbol of St. Mark, patron saint of nearby Venice. Verona was under the rule of La Serenissima for about four centuries, so the lion is represented all over the city in the region. Our guide told us the Veronese say there are more lions in their town than in Africa.

I believe this particular lion is near the Piazza delle Erbe, but unfortunately I can't be sure. We saw so many sights that afternoon in Verona, it was hard to keep track of what was what. So if you can fill in the details, please add it to the comments on this blog, per favore.