Verona

Verona

I did not know what to expect of ‘Fair Verona’ beyond a dose of the Romeo & Juliet fairytale, but I really was swept off my feet. There is a sense of calm and lack of tourists, which create a relaxed atmosphere. We arrived at Sara’s bohemian little rooftop apartment by the Ponte Navi and immediately set out to explore. The three days were a truly hedonistic experience, we took beautiful walks in the afternoon sun amongst the Lilac trees, drank endless Vin Rossi, saw beautiful art and frequently lost all sense of time.

I began my wandering at San Duomo church where Titian’s ‘Assumption’ is the centrepiece. The ceiling is adorned with beautiful predellas in pastel palettes with a Romanesque cloister below. I then crossed to Verona’s biggest church, San Anastasia, which had a wonderfully comforting scent of incense wafting through its aisles. I sat on the floor to appreciate the weaving of organic patterns on the ceiling and admired the relief work by the altar. My final stop, San Fermo was particularly poignant, because my visit happened to coincide with their Choral practice - a deeply moving experience.

Back to the Art: the Castelvecchio museum is mind-blowing. The gallery fills the walls of the Meideval castle on the river Adige and is filled with spectacular Veronese art and Romanesque sculptures from centuries ago. The most magical element is the quantity of paintings still remaining – although fragmented – on its stone walls.

 I discovered two new favourites: the first was ‘Madonna of the Rose Garden’ by Stefano di Giovanni (1395-1455), which is almost like a Persian miniature, a scene whereby the Virgin and Child are surrounded by exotic birds, allegorical figures and roses on a background of gold leaf. The second was the museum’s most famous work, ‘Madonna and the Quail’, by Antonio Pisano, which is the central compartment of a polytych used for private collections. There are blue-winged angels, a gold leaf decorative sky and flora and fauna painted with the detail of a miniaturist. The Flemish paintings room is also fabulous.

Sara and I both run every morning and I must now declare that she took me on the most beautiful run I have every done in my life. I have run in many exotic locations, but nothing compares to running alongside the River Adige and up into the hills around San Pietro where the wildflowers grow. We yogis did our ‘Salutations to Sun’ as Verona stretched before us and then lay on the rocks to warm in the morning sun. 

There is no better way to clear one’s head. Eva also took me on an early evening passeggiata (stroll) along the hills above the city through orchards of lilac and cyprus trees where young Italians lie with bottles of Prosecco. It was truly the most heavenly walk I’ve ever taken. We emerged at San Pietro where we sat on the battlements with our feet dangling over the city and talked for a while. ‘Make Love Not War’ had been spray painted onto the city wall behind it, a phrase to make you smile.

For food, Sara and I bypassed the delicacy of ‘horse stew’ and frequented her local vegetable shop to gather fresh produce to cook with and we made delicious Italian salads of zuchinni, tomatoes, Melanzane, mozzerella with flowing balsamic vinegar and Olive Oil (perhaps from the old man with an olive press we’d passed in the hills). 

In the evenings we strolled past paper shops and found fun wine bars spilling into the streets after midnight where we settled for Vin Rossi and Grappa with local friends. Our last supper was at ‘Trattoria Fituviole Vecio Mulin’ on the river bank where we got very messy digging into platters of clams, mussels, langoustines and vegetables. Magdalena Bar followed for a sweet red dessert wine and strawberries smuggled in our handbags. With Sara’s Italian friends I had to mix my French, Latin and Spanish to communicate to my best level and join their philosophical talks, but as always my Italian improved with the wine!