History of Verona

by numerous warlike peoples, so the Romans turned to the Veneti for help, as they believed them to be blood relatives: this belief was the result of a legend that Antenor and the Eneti, among the few survivors of the Trojan War, were driven from their land and came after a long journey to the upper Adriatic Sea, to the region roughly corresponding to today's Veneto, where they hunted the Euganei.

Augustus provided for the territorial rearrangement of the peninsula by subdividing it into eleven regiones; Verona was then incorporated into the Regio X Venetia et Histria, which included the populations of the Cenomani Gauls, Rhaetians, Euganei, Veneti, Carni and Histri.

[30][31] Emperor Gallienus, in 265, had the city walls enlarged to include the Arena, fortifying it in only seven months, from April to December of that year, as is attested by the inscription on the architrave of Porta Borsari: this decision was made after the Alemanni had pushed as far as Ravenna.

Odoacer had no investiture but ruled de facto and left a good memory among the Veronese:[35] he changed nothing from the previous government and as an Arian he did not oppose the Latin Christians of the Nicene-Ephesian creed; he also applied a Roman rule from the past to pacify his army, confiscating one-third of the land from the landowners and redistributing it to his soldiers; he revived agriculture and the economy, making life easier for the peasants by providing tax relief and freeing the slaves, who became serfs, formally free, though still bound to masters.

Upon the king's death the crown passed to his nephew Totila, an excellent politician and commander: wishing to eliminate the Byzantines from Italian soil, he followed Theodoric's policy, expropriating landed estates and accepting slaves into his army.

The Goths, surprised, fled to the hills north of the city, but realizing the low number of soldiers who had penetrated, and the discord among the generals over the division of spoils, they attacked them, forcing them to flee and retreat across the Po River.

[58][59] Following the union of the crowns of Italy and Germany under the Holy Roman Empire, the city, an obligatory stopover for those on their way to the Brenner Pass, was often the destination of emperors who also stayed there for long periods, as well as the site of numerous diets.

In 967 Emperor Otto II arrived in Verona to prepare for war against the Saracens, but after a heavy defeat in Calabria he had to take shelter in the city again, where in 983 he called a diet attended by leading figures from the Kingdom of Italy and the Roman territory, as well as the bishops and princes of Franconia, Saxony, Swabia and Lorraine.

On April 10, 1090, he organized an army in the city composed mostly of Veronese, with which he attacked Nogara and besieged (successfully) Mantua, while in a second battle at Monteveglio Henry IV's son died, whom he had buried in the basilica of San Zeno.

[67] Devastating for Verona was the earthquake of January 3, 1117, which brought down the outer ring of the Arena, as well as destroying numerous religious and civil buildings, but gave impetus to a period of intense rebuilding;[68] a few years later (1122), however, the struggle over investiture ended, with the Concordat of Worms.

[69] According to historian Luigi Simeoni, the population of Verona in this century must have numbered about 10,000 and was divided into five districts, four of which (Maggiore, Chiavica, Ferro, and Capitani) corresponded to the ancient Roman regiones, while the fifth, known as "del Castello," had been established across the Adige River.

In 1167 the two leagues (Veronese and Lombard) united to form the so-called Concordia: Bergamo, Bologna, Brescia, Cremona, Ferrara, Lodi, Mantua, Milan, Modena, Novara, Padua, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia, Treviso, Venice, Vercelli, Verona and Vicenza participated in this alliance.

[79] On this occasion, the Carroccio of Verona was made, a chariot richly adorned with the symbols of the city that was carried in procession on major festivals and carefully guarded in the basilica of San Zeno until 1583,[80] when some ministers of the abbey misappropriated and destroyed it.

In the same year, however, the father left Ezzelino III power over Verona, and at this point discord with the Sambonifacio became an open fight, so much so that he advanced with an army toward the city, causing the Guelphs to flee after a brief resistance.

In response, many Guelph leaders gathered at Villafranca to re-establish the Lombard League, but little was accomplished; in the meantime, Ezzelino III had the first Veronese statute written (the original is in the Chapter Library of Verona), which was to be enforced by the podestà.

[89] The Paduans began to carry out raids in the east of Verona, so Ezzelino III sought help from Emperor Frederick II, who gave him the important title of imperial vicar in Italy: the podestà was then able to initiate a large number of battles and sackings of Guelph towns and castles, which tried hard to stand up to him.

[97] In Verona, the Ghibelline faction had by then gained the upper hand, and with Mastino della Scala, the city passed from commune to lordship: in 1262 he was in fact appointed "perpetual general captain of the people."

[108] Cangrande della Scala was a respected lord; for the second period he hosted Dante, exiled from Florence, in the palace he had specially set up for the great political refugees, scientists, poets and talented artists whom he generously supported with money and gifts.

[129] For another six years the city remained in the hands of the Scaligeri, during which time Antonio had his brother killed so that he could rule alone: he had the Malaspina, the Nogarola (who had always been family friends) and the Bevilacqua blamed for this crime, and they managed to find refuge in Milan.

This fleet sailed up the Adige River and reached almost as far as Rovereto, only to be transported to Lake Garda by land by climbing over the ridge of Mount Baldo through the Loppio Pass, pulled by 2,000 oxen; the voyage lasted fifteen days and is known as the feat of the galeas per montes.

Prince Eugene of Savoy, informed of the facts, succeeded in the feat of ascending the very steep slopes of the Lessini mountains with 25,000 Austrian soldiers, who then descended to the east of Verona, headed for Legnago and defeated the French at Carpi, forcing them to retreat across the Mincio River.

[171] At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, an event that kicked off the Conservative Order, the creation of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, a new state dependent on the Austrian Empire with a viceroy from the Viennese court at its head, was decided at the table, and the following year it had a first visit from Emperor Francis I.

[176] 1848 was the year of revolutions throughout Europe: in Milan the viceroy Rainer Joseph of Habsburg-Lorraine was driven out during the Five Days, while in Venice the Austrian governor had to flee; Field Marshal Radetzky then had to proclaim a state of siege in Lombardy-Venetia.

[177] The next morning the population, with cockades and tricolor flags, gathered in the square awaiting news, when the group of moderates appeared, revealing that they had been promised a constitutional government, the creation of a city guard to enforce order, and that freedom would be guaranteed.

Radetzky had all the gates of entry to the city blocked off and numerous barricades built, as well as forbidding the population to climb on the roofs of palaces (so that they would not see what was happening) and closing the entrances to bell towers (so that they would not call the citizens to revolt).

[190] Finally, the Third War of Independence saw the greatest battle at Custoza, with a heavy Italian defeat: however, thanks to the crushing Prussian victory, which had greatly weakened Austria, Verona and the Veneto region could be united with the Kingdom of Italy.

I will never see you again!” On the following October 21 and 22, the plebiscite of Veneto sanctioned the union to the Kingdom of Italy with 88,864 votes in favor and two against, as evidenced by the plaque placed at the entrance of the present-day City Hall and recalling the ballot of the province of Verona.

Verona, with the blood of its best sons, in prisons and on scaffolds, testified to its indomitable spirit of freedom, heroically supported by people of all social classes and ideally united with those fellow citizens who, on September 8, 1943, had joined the local resistance in France, Greece, Albania and Yugoslavia.

The economy underwent a radical change, with a significant shift of the workforce from agricultural activities to industry; in addition, the Standa department store was opened in the city center in 1956, and two years later the Mondadori factory was inaugurated in San Michele Extra.

[216] A major news event was the kidnapping of General James Lee Dozier, commander of NATO's Allied Land Forces Southern Europe (LANDSOUTH), who was abducted by the Red Brigades on December 17, 1981;[217] the police intervened massively, so much so that the city seemed to be under siege, and only after 42 days, on January 28, he was freed in Padua thanks to a raid by the Verona NOCS.

Panorama of Verona and its river in a mid-eighteenth century painting by Bernardo Bellotto , better known as Canaletto.
Colle San Pietro, a relief on which the prehistoric settlement arose.
Ancient Venetian situla
Some remains of Roman walls : brick masonry from the Republican period flanked by stone masonry from the Imperial period, near Porta Leoni
Veronese countryside in Roman times.
Regio X Venetia et Histria , in which Verona was included.
Depiction of the battle of Verona in the frieze on the south side of the Arch of Constantine in Rome
The invasions of the Roman Empire
The Ostrogothic Kingdom a few years after the fall of the Western Roman Empire .
Depiction of Theodoric the Great
Map depicting the main moments of the Gothic War
Lombard dominions after the death of Alboin, around 575
The so-called “Raterian iconography,” in a codex of Bishop Ratherius from the mid-10th century, the oldest depiction of Verona
The March of Verona and the other ancient Italian states in the year 1000
Basilica of San Zeno , a masterpiece of Romanesque architecture . It was built on an earlier building severely damaged in the devastating earthquake of January 3, 1117 .
Coat of arms of the Sambonifacio family, which played a prominent role in the political life of the city
Depiction of the founding of the free commune of Verona, located in the lunette of the entrance portal to the basilica of San Zeno
Miniature of Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa
Amos Cassioli 's depiction of the Battle of Legnano , in which three hundred Veronese knights participated.
Nineteenth-century depiction of Pope Lucius III , who found refuge in Verona in the last years of his life
Sixteenth-century portrait of Ezzelino III da Romano by Cristofano dell'Altissimo
Fresco depicting St. Anthony of Padua facing Ezzelino III da Romano in Verona
The municipal walls of Verona, which Ezzelino had rebuilt between 1240 and 1250.
The Scaliger family coat of arms, with a white ladder, with four or five rungs, on a red field
Bust of Alberto I della Scala in the public library of Verona.
Eighteenth-century portrait of Cangrande della Scala , condottiere and patron who became the family's most illustrious figure
Dante's statue in Piazza dei Signori in Verona. The poet spent several years of his life at the court of the Scaligeri.
Scaliger dominions at the height of their expansion (1336).
Two symbols of Scaliger Verona: in the foreground the statue of “Madonna Verona,” a Roman sculpture reused in a fountain commissioned by Cansignorio, and in the background the Gardello tower
The insignia of the Serenissima placed atop a column in Piazza delle Erbe
Tintoretto 's painting depicting the battle on Lake Garda , following the feat of the galeas per montes
Northern Italy in 1494, a few years before the start of the War of the League of Cambrai .
Rondella della Baccola, part of the Venetian defensive curtain designed by Michele Sanmicheli
Verona's lazaretto, a place where the sick were housed during the plague of 1630 .
Republic of Venice in 1789, a few years before the Napoleonic Italian campaign .
An episode of the Veronese Easter
Political division of the Italian peninsula in 1803, with Verona split in two between the Cisalpine Republic and the Archduchy of Austria
Satirical illustration about the Congress of Verona
Map representing the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia in 1853, with a view of Verona and other important cities
Field Marshal Radetzky in Austrian uniform.
The deployment of Austrian forces around Verona
The Piedmontese attacked during the Battle of Santa Lucia , effectively countered by the Austrians
The Magistral Walls and the numerous forts built by the Austrians to defend Verona
Illustration from Le Monde Illustré depicting the Italian flag carried to Castel San Pietro
Celebrations for the entry of Italian troops into Piazza Bra
Photograph prior to the flood of 1882, still showing the characteristic dwellings abutting the river that were later torn down to make way for the walls
Verona's paper mills and the Camuzzoni canal in the early twentieth century.
The station of Porta Nuova at the end of the reconstruction works in 1949.
November 12, 1965: Inauguration of the University of Verona by the Minister Luigi Gui , the Rector Guido Ferro and the Mayor of Verona Renato Gozzi.