Verona, Veneto Region, Italy

🇮🇹 Verona is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. The metropolitan area of Verona is one of the main tourist destinations in northern Italy because of its artistic heritage and several annual fairs, shows, and operas, such as the lyrical season in the Arena, an ancient Roman amphitheatre.

Between the 13th and 14th century the city was ruled by the Della Scala Family. Under the rule of the family, in particular of Cangrande I della Scala, the city experienced great prosperity, becoming rich and powerful and being surrounded by new walls. The Della Scala era is survived in numerous monuments around Verona. Two of William Shakespeare's plays are set in Verona: Romeo and Juliet and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. It is unknown if Shakespeare ever visited Verona or Italy, but his plays have lured many visitors to Verona and surrounding cities. Verona was also the birthplace of Isotta Nogarola, who is said to be the first major female humanist and one of the most important humanists of the Renaissance. The city has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO because of its urban structure and architecture.

Economy The scale-based economy is characterized by a boosted multi-settoriality, with companies dividing almost equally between agriculture, industry, construction, tourism, trade and services, reaching leadership positions in different fields: in the agricultural sector, the Veronese province being the first in Italy for the export of wine and fruit and vegetables; in manufacturing, in particular in the segments of the food industry, 8]

In particular, the agricultural sector is a fundamental resource for the territory, with typical productions protected by marks of origin and protection, with an important contribution to catering and food and wine tourism. This sector is also linked to the industrial sector of agri-food, which has become over time one of the most important sectors for the economics of Verona, with numerous excellences: wine (it is mentioned in particular the products DOCG Amarone della Valpolicella, Recioto della Valpolicella and Soave, the Soave superiore and Bardolino superior), dairy products 168] Other particularly dynamic activities are those of hotels and catering, linked to the liveliness of tourism, a sector that plays a role of absolute importance: together with lake tourism on Lake Garda, which attracts millions of tourists every year, and cultural tourism, linked to Verona city of art, the sandy opera festival and the Veronese the theatrical summer, the mountain tourism of the 169]

The particularly favorable, indeed strategic, position in which Verona is located, has favored its inclusion in important road, railway and air communication routes, and therefore the birth of one of the most important European intermodal transport centres, the Quadrant Europe, thus generating the ideal conditions to make Verona an important point of reference in the field of international flows of both economic and cultural exchanges. 170] At the level of trade, the reference country is Germany, by far the main Veronese trading partner both in terms of exports and imports, so much so that in Verona were based in Verona some major German business realities, in particular Volkswagen Group, MAN and Lidl.

Although the Veronese economy is largely made up of small and medium-sized enterprises, there are also home to large companies including AIA, which together with Negroni and Mangimi Veronesi are part of the Veronesi Group, Bauli, Pastificio Rana and Vicenzi, all in the food sector; therefore the Calzedonia Group, of which Intimissimi and Insurance.

Tourist Industry Because of the value and importance of its many historical buildings, Verona has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Verona preserved many ancient Roman monuments (including the magnificent Arena) in the early Middle Ages, but many of its early medieval edifices were destroyed or heavily damaged by the earthquake of 3 January 1117, which led to a massive Romanesque rebuilding. The Carolingian period Versus de Verona contains an important description of Verona in the early medieval era.

Public transit Public transit has been operated by the provincial public transport company, Azienda Trasporti Verona (ATV), since 2007. From 1884 to 1951, the city was served by the Verona tram network. Trolleybuses replaced the trams which were themselves replaced by buses in 1975. A new trolleybus network is currently under review by ATV and is expected to open in 2022.

An incline lift, the Verona funicular, opened in 2017 and provides access from the Ponte Pietra to the Roman theatre museum and San Pietro Castle.

Transport: Rail Verona lies at a major route crossing where the north-south rail line from the Brenner Pass to Rome intersects with the east-west line between Milan and Venice, giving the city rail access to most of Europe. In addition to regional and local services, the city is served by direct international trains to Zurich, Innsbruck, and Munich. ÖBB nightjet provides overnight sleeper service via Verona on its La Spezia to Wien and München lines.

Verona's main station is Verona Porta Nuova railway station, to the south of the city center. It is considered to be the ninth busiest railway station in Italy, handling approximately 68,000 passengers per day, or 25 million passengers per year.

There is a lesser station to the east of the city at Porta Vescovo, which used to be the main station in Verona, but now only receives trains between Venice and Porta Nuova.

Transport: Air Verona Airport is located 10 km (6.2 mi) south-west of Verona. It handles around 3 million passengers per year. It is linked to Porta Nuova railway station by a frequent bus service.

There are direct flights between Verona and Rome Fiumicino, Munich, Berlin, Moscow, Naples, Frankfurt, Catania, London Gatwick, Dublin, Palermo, Cork, Manchester, Liverpool and Cagliari among others.