From Juliet's balcony to Romeo's house: a day in Verona

In the world there are as many as twenty-seven places called Verona: the various American, Canadian and Australian namesakes of the wonderful Scaliger city are all the fruit of the enormous influence that Veronese art and culture have exerted on the world's collective imagination. A fundamental role in this was played by the very famous Shakespearean drama, Romeo and Juliet; in fact the balcony of the house where Juliet lived is the first destination of all tourists. The building stands near Piazza Erbe, corresponding to the ancient Roman forum, where in the basements there are traces of streets and even remains of a Roman basilica. Of the Capulet family, actually Cappelletti, there is knowledge up to the years of Dante's stay in Verona, as testified by the coat of arms of the hat on the keystone of the arch of the entrance to the courtyard of the house.

The territory of the municipality, crossed by the Adige river, was inhabited since the Neolithic. On the banks of the river shipyards and floating mills were created. One of the periods of greatest splendour of the city was the imperial one, during which its symbol monument was erected, the Arena, the third largest Roman amphitheatre in Italy. In the Arena, prestigious cultural events take place every year, including the Arena Opera Festival. In ancient times one entered the city, surrounded by walls of which some remains are still visible, through beautiful gates including Porta Borsari, Porta Leoni and the Arco dei Gavi, on the Via Postumia. Other gates were built in the sixteenth century, in the Venetian era, including Porta Nuova. During our walk we visit numerous beautiful religious buildings, including the thirteenth-century Duomo, dedicated to Santa Maria Matricolare.

Among the early medieval monuments we visit the Romanesque Basilica of San Zeno, and we thus arrive, ideally, in the flourishing Scaliger era. Walking in Piazza dei Signori, the statue of Dante recalls the period when illustrious figures including Dante himself and Giotto were hosted in the Palazzo del Podestà. That dinner time is approaching is signalled to us by none other than the first public clock, that of the Torre del Gardello, in Piazza Erbe. A short distance away we discover the famous Scaliger Tombs, a funerary complex of the dynasty, known for being one of the most distinguished monuments of Gothic art. The chimes of the clock and the Gothic atmospheres accompany us to the building where Romeo's house stood. Adjacent to the house full of romance is the Ristorante Arche, witness to 135 years of history.

“The restaurant was founded by my great-grandfather Giuseppe Gioco, in 1877. At the time it was a tavern, which later became an osteria-inn, with an attached post station for the rest of travellers and the changing of horses,” the chef Giancarlo Gioco tells us; he has even managed to bring the sea to Verona, thanks to his delicious dishes based on fresh fish. We start in fact with a traditional Venetian dish from the 14th century, the sardelle in saor, prepared the old way, with candied citron, Corinth raisins and pine nuts. We continue in style with the Coppa del Doge, that is, a pea purée, burchio cuttlefish and potato foam, tasting, then, the lobster crudité with almond olive oil, Sicilian scampi, tuna and malossol caviar.

We follow these magnificent starters with spaghettoni with clams and seasonal wild mushrooms al cartoccio and potato gnocchi lightly smoked on chestnut shavings, prawns, asparagus and noisette butter. Some of us have paccheri with porcini mushrooms and Sicilian scampi, the risottino with Sicilian baby squid and courgettes, as well as lobster ravioli with noisette butter and truffle shavings. Among the main courses we choose the fillet of line-caught sea bass in a wild poppy sprout shirt with sweet pepper sauce, the fried royal plateau of scampi, lobster, king crab claws, king prawns, all in a cloud, and the John Dory fillet in the manner of Venetian fishermen with Sicilian cherry tomatoes. Our friends, on the other hand, opt for the pan of cod underbelly alla pescatora and for the medallions of venison fillet alla cacciatora with juniper berries, cloves and blueberries.

We wash down these delicacies with a Soave classico superiore La Rocca Pieropan from garganega grapes, while a Valpolicella classico superiore Bussola will accompany the tasty platter of goat and cow cheeses. With the desserts, including filo pastry ribbons, caramel foam with grand marnier and blueberry sauce, white cheese ice cream on berry cream and orange crunchy bits, and chocolate flakes and foam with coffee in cocoa sauce, we match a Recioto di Soave wine by Anselmi. There is still so much left to discover in this wonderful city, but one thing is certain: next time too we will pass by Romeo's house and the Scaliger Tombs.

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Ristorante Arche Via Arche Scaligere, 6 Verona Tel.: 045/8007415

The photographs of the city are by Lo Scaligero, with the exception of the photo of the Duomo, by Tango7174. They come from Wikimedia Commons and are published under the Creative Commons – “Attribution Share Alike 3.0 Unported” licence.