MARI'S TRAVELS WITH HER CAMERA

Category: Europe – Mediterranean

Spain, Italy, P:ortugal & France

  • Discover Sóller: A Journey Through History

    Vintage tram in Sóller. Photo courtesy of Christian B via Pixabay

    When I first visited Sóller, 50 years ago or more, I was not interested in its history. At that period in my life, Mallorca was an exotic holiday playground, a place that offered respite from winter in the UK, where sea, sand and blue skies dominated daytime activities, and where the landscapes and seascapes offered a vista of paradise.

    Later, I learned the fascinating history of Sóller which inspired in me a desire to return and experience the town’s strangeness, but the opportunity didn’t arise until April of this year when I managed to fit in a day trip from our base in Palma.

    Vintage Train travels over Viaduct on its journey between Palma and Soller. Image courtesy of Ramon Rullan via Pixabay.

    My first visit was by train from Palma – the only method of getting there. It was called “the Lemon Express” or maybe it was “the Orange Express” and I remember still being overwhelmed by the perfume from the orange blossom that drifted through the open window of the carriage, and I remember too, my excitement at glimpsing lemon and orange fruits peeking through the dark green leaves of the citrus trees. I guess that was the start of my love affair with Spain.

    It would have been nice to replicate the journey this time but that wasn’t possible.

    The Vintage Tram still runs through Sóller’s streets. Photo courtesy of Nicole Pankalla, via Pixabay

    Once at the railway station one boarded the tram, a vintage vehicle that is still in service and in use as a means of getting from one place to another and as a valued tourist attraction.

    Sóller’s Recent Past

    Sóller lies in the northwest of Mallorca, now an area where the super rich live in mansions hidden in gated communities, and where million-pound yachts are moored in the marinas.

    Photo courtesy of ralph.rybak via Pixabay.

    In the 19th century, the area was isolated from the rest of Mallorca by mountains. An abundance of citrus groves dotted the valley but as it was difficult to get them to Palma, the farmers had the ingenious idea of selling their oranges to France, and so they started to ship their oranges to France by boat from the nearby West coast. This direct exportation to France effectively made the farmers and the town extremely wealthy.

    It was a two-way trade, not only did the citrus fruits make the journey to France but locals also crossed the water to work in France and many French came to work in Sóller. Fortunes were made in France and many of those who amassed riches eventually returned to Sóller to build large houses, some of which can still be seen today. French companies opened offices in Sóller, French as well as Spanish was spoken in the town and to this day, French is still spoken in Sóller by many people.

    The train and tram system worked up to a point, but more was needed, and in 1989 excavations began for a tunnel through the mountains to provide an easier route to Palma and the rest of Mallorca. This Toll Road opened in 1997 and at approximately £5 a time, was the most expensive in Europe: all toll charges were dropped in 1917 and it is now a free road, so cars, buses, and coaches, can all get to and from Sóller in approximately 30 minutes. Not so romantic, but more practical.

    Sóller from the Port. Photo courtesy of effekt99 via Pixabay

    You Can Still Travel by Train and Tram from Palma

    If circumstances had been different my preference would have been to taken the 60-minute historic wooden train (the Ferrocarril Tren de Sóller) from Palma to Sóller: this vintage train has run between Palma and Soller since 1912 and is nowadays a famous attraction in itself. It chugs on its 27kilometre journey through the majestic Sierra de Tramuntana, navigating the 13 tunnels cut through the mountains. The contrast between the inky blackness of the tunnels and the beauty of the rural landscape is spectacular, ranging from fields of almond and orange trees to ancient viaducts and small villages.

    What to do in Sóller

    The Sant Bartomeu Church, photo courtest of effeck99 via Pixabay

    Plaza de la Constitución is the heart of Sóller, dominated by Sant Bartomeu church and from here you can wander the narrow streets lined with shops and bars, where traditional goods and locally made craft items are a good buy, visit an art gallery, or hop on the antique open-air tram and head down to the Port in about 20 minutes. The many hikers and Nordic walkers you will see in the town are heading for the Serra de Tramuntana’s long-distance path – the Dry Stone Route.

    Art lovers should head for the Art Nouveau mansion, Can Prunera, which has a very fine permanent collection, including Kandinsky, Picasso, Miro and Warhol, alongside local artists Miquel Barceló and Francesca Martí). Temporary exhibitions are a regular feature in Can Prunera and for a small town, they can be exceptional.

    Once in the Port, much changed since my earlier trip. a pre-lunch walk walk along the Promenade is a relaxing way to view the natural, sheltered bay, sandy beaches, seafood restaurants, and scenic boardwalks.

    Sóller is a glorious place in which to spend a few hours. It is not only a unique town, but a very beautiful town in a picturesque setting with a history like no other.

    Photo courtesy of effeck99 via Pixabay

    PS. I haven’t been but I’ve been told that the Spring Orange Festival – theFira de la Taronja – is a spectacular introduction to Sóller’s citrus culture. It spans a couple of weeks of citrus-themed food tasting events. Contact the Tourist Board for dates. The event usually takes place end March-early April.

  • Valldemossa: The Perfect Day Trip from Palma

    Is this the Prettiest town on the island?

    An easy 20-minute drive from Palma, capital city of Mallorca, lies the lovely little town of Valldemossa set in the Tramuntana mountains that form the backbone of Mallorca, a town that seems a world away from the busy capital.

    Federic Chopin, Valldemossa’s most famous resident, along with George Sand.

    Perched on a hilltop and with car-free cobbled streets and alleys, Valldemossa, the highest town in Mallorca, is best known as the place where Federic Chopin​ and his lover, the French writer George Sand, spent the winter of 1828/9 in Cell No. 4 (a suite of 3 rooms) in the town’s famous Carthusian Monastery.  George Sand’s book about their stay there, A Winter in Majorca, is on sale in virtually every bookshop in Valldemossa in a variety of languages.

    Wiki Image from Pixabay

    A ticket to the Real Cartuja ​(Royal Carthusian Monastery) including the church, cloisters, ​the old pharmacy​ and Chopin’s apartment which contains his original piano and other artefacts, includes a short Chopin piano recital, highly recommended.

    ​For something more up to date, a visit to Costa Nord, a contemporary cultural centre established by actor Michael Douglas in 2,000, is well worth a visit.  Created by the Hollywood actor (who spends half the year there on his estate and is active in local affairs) as a way to celebrate the cultural and natural heritage of the UNESCO World Heritage site Serra de Tramuntana, the backbone of Mallorca, visitors can explore the history, traditions and landscapes of Mallorca’s northern coast through exhibits that cover everything from agriculture and seafaring to architecture and Folklore, with opportunities to taste local produce and experience local cooking.

    Photo by Pixel-Sepp

    Local Mallorcans however, say that Valldemossa has a more important claim to fame: it was the birthplace of the island’s only saint: Santa Catalina Thomas.

    If you want to visit her tiny birthplace and shrine it lies just behind the church of Sant Bartomeu in peaceful Rectory Street (Calle Rectoria) a picturesque, narrow cobblestone alley.  

    Hiking and walking

    You will see many hikers and walkers in the area as it is a popular venue for trekking into the mountains with both routes for experienced walkers and for the less adventurous.   O

    One of the most visited peaks in the Tramuntana mountain range is Puig des Teix, which is a trek of some 16km up through the Son Marroig estate, once the home of Austrian Archduke Lluis Salvador, to the 1064m summit. Once at the summit, the vistas that greet you are jaw-dropping. The only word to describe them are Awesome, an overworked adjective but right for the views from Puig des Teix. Details of all walks can be obtained from the Tourist Office in the village.

    A Day Visit to Valldemossa

    If on a day visit and with little time to spare, then Valledmossa will still charm. Its cobblesone streets lined with shops, boutiques, cafes and bars, means that pretty much every need can be met. Cocas de Potatas, Valldemossa’s famous biscuits, and rightly so, are found in every bakery. There is a colourful street market every Sunday morning, a great place to source quality local produce, including fruit and vegetables, cheeses and Spanish ham, artisan soaps and shampoos, and small leather goods. Some producers sell from stalls by their farm gates, with organic jams and olive oils the most popular items on sale.

    Or just buy an ice-cream from one of the shops, wander to the edge of the town and look on the peaceful terraces that surround it, then find a cafe, tapas bar or ham-hung restaurant and enjoy some great Spanish food.

    Link to https://travels-with-my-camera.blog/2026/08/18/revisiting-old-palma-a-memorable-trip-to-mallorca/

  • Revisiting Old Palma: A Memorable Trip to Mallorca

    Mallorca and the City Break that Never Was

    Photo by Heiko Behrendt from Pixabay.

    It was my first planned trip in 18 months following a series of health mishaps and a city break in Mallorca seemed just the ticket. My travelling companion, like me, hadn’t visited Mallorca for over 40 years and we’d planned to spend most of our days delving into the old town of which we had fond memories and re-visiting favourite spots.

    Unfortunately, on our first day out to find the Tourist Office, Cathy ruptured her Achilles Heel and that was the end of our walking the lanes and alleyways of old Mallorca!

    Photo by MarciMarc105 from Pixabay

    Luckily, our chosen hotel, The Saratoga, on the edge of the Old Town knew of an osteopath whose treatment was brilliant and although we were still house-bound as it were, the pain was controlled. The hotel itself was perfect, the roof terrace bar with its comfortable sofas and chairs and its view of the Cathedral over the intervening rooftops was a good place to spend the after-dinner hours (and most of the daytime hours as well). We were limited as to where we could eat but the hotel’s fine-dining restaurant was amazing, so all was well.

    I managed to go out alone a few times but felt guilty leaving Cathy alone so my jaunts out were just to stroll arond the nearby streets and to El Corte Ingles for a few hours of retail therapy.

    A nearby canal which seemed odd in the middle of Palma but was interesting.

    The Old Town was no longer the Bohemian place I remembered, but an area full of artisan coffee shops, art studios and craft outlets. Still, it was engaging and elegantly laid out, the coffee was good and the street art attractive.

    We booked a car and driver one day for an outing that include Valldemossa, which was one of the places we’d earmarked for a visit, and I’ll write about this in a follow-up blog, and another day we did the same to Soller – again a happy outing to a spot we both remembered well from years gone by.

    A Street in Old Palma

    And that was Mallorca – my first holiday in ages. And what was to be my return blog here is more of a damp squib.

    But I’m back, and since then I’ve also managed to get to Crete which was relaxing and re-charged the batteries although I was sad not to be able to do the walking I once did in that lovely island.

    So, hello again. Looking forward to posting more often, though not as often as before as I still have ongoing eye problems which prohibits computer use.

    I’ve also got to get to grips with WP again as I can’t remember how to re-size photos and set them out properly. Hey Ho! Another fine mess I’ve got myself into!

  • Bench Challenge

    Not sure if this challenge is still running but I’ve found two more images of benches that I’d like to post.

    On a walk along the sea cliffs in my home town I spied this one.

    More than one bench here along the river Adige , the second longest river in Italy and a central feature of the city of Verona through which it runs before heading towards the Adriatic Sea.   Verona’s historic centre is partly enclosed by the river and several of her historic bridges cross the river including the Scaligeri family’s Ponte di Castelvecchio.

    Link to Juhttps://traveltalk.me.uk/bench-series/de’s challenge.

  • Bench Photo

    Does this count? Can it make it into the Bench challenge? It’s a bench seat in a Gondola in Venice (where else)?

    Bench photo linked with Jude here.

  • Barranco de Viznar: Unearthing Lorca’s Legacy and the Spanish Civil War Tragedy

    They work in silence over a hole in the ground, on their knees, lying flat on their stomachs to access the dig. On a table nearby are some bones, skulls too. The harsh sun has bleached the surrounding terrain but there is a little shade in the nearby wooded area and under the gazebo tented area in which they work.

    The Barranco de Viznar has been declared a Place of Historical Memory in Granada, Spain, and as a life-long student of the Spanish Civil War, standing in this sloping, wooded area of about 10,000 square meters on a sharp curve of the road between Alfacar and Viznar, just has to be one of the best moment of 2024 for me.

    We know where the bodies are

    Imagine being given the opportunity to visit the site where the exhumation of thousands of young men assassinated by Franco’s troops during the Spanish civil war is taking place. Between September and November 1936, at the start of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), it is reckoned that at least 173 people were killed here and thrown into mass graves. Even earlier, in July and August, just after the coup d’état that triggered the war, there had been other assassinations, including that of the poet Federico García Lorca, but no record was left of them.

    Imagine how overwhelming it was , as a lover of Lorca’s poetry and plays, to be given the privilege of visiting the place where his assassination is presumed to have taken place in the opening days of that terrible conflict, and to talk with those involved in the ‘dig’.

    In Lorca’s Footsteps in Granada

    That is what happened when my friend Kathleen and I visited Granada recently to renew our acquaintance with a city that had charmed us both decades ago. We found it virtually unchanged, still intensely Spanish, catering mainly to Spanish visitors and still with the best tapas bars in Spain, but giving nods to a more modern vibe with the addition of Gin bars!

    Our idea was to walk In the Footsteps of Federico Garcia Lorca, guided by the Ian Gibson book of the same name, and it was while we were doing this that we had a serendipitous encounter with a Granada local who shared our enthusiasm and who invited us to visit the dig in Viznar.

    The Barranco de Viznar and its secrets

    The Barranco de Víznar is a ravine in the province of Granada, Spain, where a team of researchers made up of archaeologists, geophysicists, anthropologists, forensic experts and historians led by Francisco Carrión Méndez, a Senior Lecturer in Prehistory and Archaeology at the University of Granada has been searching for the bodies of the those assassinated during the Spanish Civil War, and searching for one in particular, the poet and playwright, Federico Garcia Lorca, one of the first to be killed.

    How Many Assassinations

    No one knows exactly how many were assassinated in the Spanish Civil War but it is estimated that it was more than 500,000, thousands of whom were massacred in the Province of Granada, some, including Lorca, even before Franco’s military coup.

    In the area of Viznar, to date, they have located 16 mass graves and recovered 124 bodies. In one mass grave they found the bodies of 10 people with gunshot wounds to the head and their hands tied behind their backs.

    The area of Barranco de Víznar was replanted with a thick forest of pine trees which has covered up the graves left after the mass executions committed by platoons of assault guards, part of the ferocious repression that followed the uprising.

    How is the Dig Funded

    The project is funded by the state and the regional government and is being conducted under the 1922  Democratic Memory Law which was enacted following the coming to power of the government of Pedro Sánchez. However, there are fears that this could be in jeopardy and the excavation stopped under a new government.

    Some scenes of the Barranco, above. Throughout the woods are dotted tents where the archaeologists and forensic scientists are working, in difficult terrain and extreme heat.

    One of the volunteers told me it usually takes four to six weeks to complete an exhumation, to excavate the personal effects and log, photograph and do the paperwork. Fortunately, the soil in the ravine of Víznar has managed to preserve the bones remarkably well, helpful in identifying the age and sex of the victims, as well as the injuries and the type of violence to which they were subjected. The DNA results can take a long time to come in but when the families are re-united with a family member, it is a great moment.

    Each tree could be a Memorial

    When a family is linked with a body from one of the mass graves via the DNA their permission is requested for a photograph of the victim to be displayed on a tree. Most families agree and it was an emotional moment to wander amongst the trees, see the photographs and read the names and occupations – some academics, a bullfighter but mostly ordinary citizens, killed because of their sympathies with the legally elected Republican government.

    Among the bones of those discovered is a former Rector of the University of Granada, Salvador Vila (above) who was brought from Salamanca to Granada and shot on October 22nd 1936. His wife, Gerda Leimdörfer, daughter of the editor-in-chief of Berlin’s leading Jewish newspaper, the Berliner Zeitung am Mittag, was spared thanks to the mediation of Manuel de Falla, the Spanish composer, who obtained a pardon in exchange for her conversion from Judaism to Catholicism.

    The burial area is accessed over uneven terrain and a paved dirt path has been laid by the City Council of Víznar that after a detour, leads to the main grave which is surrounded by a stone gallery filled with small metal plaques bearing the names and circumstances of those killed, placed there by Historical Memory Associations and the heirs of those shot.

    The modern road to Viznar and Alfacar with Granada in the distance

    The Death of Lorca

    Lorca was spending time in the home of family friends, the Rosales, on Angulo Street, on 17th August 1936, when he was arrested and taken just 300 metres away to the Civil Government building, at that time a centre of terror: from there he was quickly transferred to Alfacar and Víznar, two small towns located only ten kilometres away where Franco’s rebel army had created a centre for the extermination of left-wing sympathizers. He was assassinated not only because of his beliefs and his ideology, but because he was homosexual.

    Memorial to Lorca

    All Were Lorca memorial stone

    Within the area there is a simple stone with the legend “All were Lorca. 18-08-2002″ and each year, on August 19, a poetry event takes place here beginning at midnight and lasting until the early hours of the morning. This celebration of Lorca’s poetry originally started as a clandestine event during the last years of the dictatorship and was the first open-air commemoration of Lorca’s assassination.

    The road to Al

    To date, Lorca’s body has not been discovered but hope remains high that one day it will be among those exhumed.

    Peceful looking woods
    Work in Progress
    Lorca Park

    Postscript:

    The project in the ravine, which is in its fourth and final phase, is now funded by the state and the regional government and is being conducted under the new Democratic Memory Law passed in 2022. It is not certain that this will continue if a more right-wing government should be installed in Madrid.

    Essential Reading

    For the politics of Spain during the Civil War and since, anything by Peter Preston is to be recommended.

    Ian Gibson: Federico García Lorca:  A Life (Faber & Faber)

    Ian Gibson:  The Assassination of Federico García Lorca (Penguin)

    Ian Gibson:  Lorca’s  Granada (Faber & Faber):  This is a great guide book to Granada as it takes you on ten routes, step by step from his birthplace to the site of his execution outside the city via the poets best-loved places in Granada.

    Granada Tourist Board – Patronato Provincial de Turismo de Granada
    Cárcel Baja, 3. 18001 Granada
    Tel: +34 958 24 71 27
    www.turgranada.es<http://www.turgranada.es/>

  • Pull up a seat

    Linked to xingfumama 

    Pull up a seat in the Parque Federico Garcia Lorca in Alfacar, Granada, Spain, and meditate on the poet’s death and those of his 3 close companions, plus the thousands of others assassinated by Franco’s rebel army in the area, just a few days after the outbreak of Spain’s Civil War.

    The Park was inaugurated by the Provincial Council of Granada in 1986 to pay tribute to the thousands shot between Alfacar and Viznar and has been declared a Place of Historical Memory.

    Sombre yes, but good to have such a place to commemorate a great poet and playwright, and the thousands of other victims of the Spanish Civil War..

    Linked to xingfumama 

  • Venice, La Serenissima

    Venice, La Serenissima

    I finally made it back to Venice.

    I’d wanted to return to La Serenissima for years but the thought of elbowing my way through the crowds, queueing for a restaurant, queueing to visit the Doge’s Palace, queueing even for a Gondola ride, was just too much. I thought of a winter visit: then I read about Venice’s floods, the rain, the mist, the dark medieval streets one has to negotiate at night, and thought again.

    Desire overcame caution however, and two weeks ago I returned to Venice and I can now thoroughly recommend a winter/spring visit. I wouldn’t travel later than the second week in March though, as the number of tourists was increasing daily and the queues were already beginning to lengthen.

    Canals and Crumbling Houses

    Misty mornings gave way to sunny afternoons and Venice worked her charm as always. Wandering around the maze of streets that lead of Piazza San Marco, stopping for hot chocolate and coffee when we spied a particularly attractive place, walking across the small bridges that span the green waters of the canals and stopping to watch the gondolas gliding under them, in areas away from the crowds, was something we never tired of.

    3 interesting balconies
    Crumbling walls
    Back streets/canals

    We had a map but still got lost. How could one not in Venice, when crumbling houses and palazzos, fading murals and ancient wooden doorways lured one into areas unknown. The tall buildings hushed the noise from the surrounding streets and often the only sound was that of the gondoliers’ oars swishing through the water as they ferried locals to their doorways on the canals, or transported tourists beyond the tourist spots.

    Gondolas – their history

    In the 14th century, horses were outlawed from the streets of Venice and the Nobles embraced gondolas as a respectable form of transportation. It then became the way to get around the lagoon’s islands. In order to navigate over the sandbars, the boats had to be flat-bottomed and the gondolier had to stand up to see ahead.

    Two hundred years ago, there were 10,000 gondolas. Today there are about 400 licensed gondoliers only. When one dies, the license passes to his widow, so keeping the skill and the tradition in Venetian families.

    Gondola Waiting Area

    A law enacted in the 17th century decreed that all Gondolas be painted black to eliminate competition between nobles for what were status symbols at that time. Today they are still painted black and decorated extensively, their detailed carvings embellished with gold, and with unique upholstery, trim and detailing. .

    St. Mark’s Basilica and The Doge’s Palace

    We arrived in a Venice which had more people than I’d expected, even for late spring, but the queues for the main sites were already huge.

    Day 1, the time on the board for the queue to St. Mark’s Basilica said 1 hour 15 minutes. Want to jump the queue? Of course, you can, for just 90 Euros, and then you are whisked inside in 10 minutes to shuffle around with all the others. It was a mere 1 hour queue for The Doge’s Palace with the same 90 Euros to jump the queue and by the time we left, six days later, the time queue in both cases, had increased by half an hour.

    Misty morning in Venice
    Basilica
    Basilica and Doge’s Palace
    Basilikca Facade
    Doge’s Palace
    Piazza San Marco
    Piazza San Marco
    Early March, Venice
    Facade Basilica
    San Marco

    What will happen at Easter and after, when the two local airports welcome increased flights from all over Europe and the cruise ships disgorge their thousands daily, is anyone’s guess.

    Rialto Bridge

    Of course we spent time window gazing at the expensive Murano glass items in the shops by the Rialto Bridge, the jewellry, the bags, and the multi-coloured pastas, pestis and ricottas packaged for easy packing.

    Rialto Bridge
    Entering Grand Canal from Rialto

    In fact we spent a lot of time in the area, fascinated not just by the food, but by the selfie-taking photographers balancing precariously on the Rialto Bridge, sure that one of them would fall into the murky waters and secretly hoping one of them would.

    Grand Canal

    We took boat rides on the Grand Canal with both the slow Water Bus and the Vaporetto, the commuters’ form of water transport. Below are just some of the houses along this magnificent waterway, some still occupied by old families, some now rented out, and some now AB&Bs. As you can imagine, photographing from a moving, and sometimes rocking, boat, was not easy.

    I would recommend a Grand Canal trip to everyone visiting. It’s the only way to see the magnificence that once was Venice, the mansions, palazzos, and houses of minor aristocrats that line this great watery thoroughfare.

    Colonnade Piazza San Marco
    Goldoni, author of La commedia dell Arte

    There were churches to visit which we didn’t, islands to visit which we didn’t, and even a Lido which we neglected, as the experience of just being in Venice proved enough to satisfy us. We seemed to retrace our steps most days, always starting at Piazza San Marco for a coffee and then just wandering, lost in the magic of this wonderful city that is Italian, but totally of itself. Venice is the only place in Italy which doesn’t appear to have a statue of Garibaldi but they honour their famous playwright son, the 18th century writer, Carlo Goldoni of Commedia dell ‘art fame, with a bronze statue in Campo S. Bartolomeo, not far from the Rialto Bridge.

    I didn’t take a gondola ride as mobility problems made this an impossibility, but I would have done so if I could. After all, where else but in Venice can you experience this. I watched enviously as my friend went off in her black and gold gondola, her straw-hatted gondolier skilfully avoiding the other boats as he steered them across the lagoon and under the Bridge of Sighs. I know, I know, it’s touristy, isn’t it, but who cares when you’re in Venice and doing what Venice is famous for?

    And as we walked back to our hotel at night, over bridges under which dark waters flowed, I tried not to think about the chilling figure in the red cloak that haunts the Venice of Nicholas Roeg’s classic film Don’t Look Now – but it was hard to dispel the image, it is so part of the Venice I know.

    I have plans for a return visit in 2025. What better recommendation than that?

    Getting from the airport to Venice hotels:

    Water Taxis – 30-45 minutes, from 140 euros (1-4 people)

    Shared Water Taxis from 60 Euros per person.

    Allilaguna Line – Comfortable water bus to Piazza San Marco takes 1 hr 14 mins with stops along the way. 15 Euros

    Vaporetto – fast commuter boat takes slightly more time as it stops more often, but you may have to stand. Costs 7.5 Euros.

    Bus from airport to Train station, then taxi to ferry, then boat.

    Whichever way you travel, you eventually have to go by water to reach San Marco & surroundings but you can stay on the mainland and travel daily by waterbus.

  • VERONA – A SHORT STOPOVER

    VERONA – A SHORT STOPOVER

    Across the River Adige to old Verona

    It’s no secret that I love Verona, and just two of the reasons for loving it are a) the city is highly walkable, and b) it is a place where tourists take second place to locals who live and work in its historic centre.

    That’s not to say that visitors aren’t everywhere, but as you stroll through the medieval streets, charmed by faded frescoes and hidden gardens, or sit at the foot of an enigmatic marble statue in one of the huge piazzas, you never feel part of mass tourism.

    Simply strolling through Verona leads one to magical places, like the splendid Piazza del Signori. Italy’s most famous poet, Alighieri Dante, lodged nearby with the ruling Della Scala family during his exile from Florence in the 14th century, and so the square also answers to the name of Piazza Dante. Surrounded by ancient buildings which played an important role in Verona’s early civic life, whose façades, although faded, are still beautiful, the square still resonates with a sense of medieval life.

    Scaligeri, Napoleon and Castelvecchio

    The Scaligeri Family Tombs
    The Scaligeri Family Tombs
    Scaligery Tomb site
    Scaligeri Tomb Above
    Church Door

    Nearby is another tiny square in which can be found the tombs of the Scaligeri family. They dominate the area, massive Gothic-like edifices, some behind a gated courtyard, and one above the church door. Intriguing, certainly, and something not to be mi

    More Scaligeri family history can be found at Castelvecchio, best approached along the Adige River and across the bridge into the city proper. Castelvecchio (in Italian ‘the old castle), a red brick building with crenelated walls and square turrets was built by the ruthless Scaligeris in the 1350’s as a home and a fortress. A later ruler also used it as his residence, during his time in Verona – one Napoleon Bonaparte who had conquered most of Northern Italy in the early 1800’s.

    During the 1920’s it was converted into a Museum and then in 1985, a renovation project to repair the damage done during the second world war was started by Italian architect Cala Scarpa. The result of that renovation is the splendid red brick castle one sees today the interior of which has been converted into one of the best Museums in Northern Italy.

    Romeo & Juliet

    The Balcony 2003
    The Crowds Below Juliet’s supposed balcony, 2023

    Everyone knows that Romeo & Juliet are fictitious characters dreamt up by William Shakespeare, but that doesn’t stop the crowds pouring into the courtyard of the supposed home of Juliet in Via Cappello, to touch the statue of the young heroine, and to pose on the balcony for a selfie. So many people have touched Nereo Costantini’s bronze statue that her right breast has now been burnished to gold. But even though the balcony you see today was erected only because tourists kept demanding to see the balcony, it is worth a visit even if you are in Verona for only one day. The house once belonged to the rich Veronese Dal Cappello family, and to visit the house and its courtyard gives an idea of how families lived in Verona in the 14th century.

    My last visit was some 14 or so years ago, the courtyard then was almost empty, we had time to explore the house and surroundings and even read some of the letters received daily asking for advice. This time, however, the search for the ultimate selfie by the crowds queueing and surging into the small space under Juliet’s balcony was a major distraction, yet I would still return to feel the magic that the place possesses. It is but a short step away from the city’s two major Piazzas linked by its famous shopping street, Via Mazzini.

    Lovers’ Locks

    Verona was the first place to have love locks on bridges, something that is now defacing bridges all over the world.

    Piazza del Erbe and Piazza Bra

    Piazza del Erbe, named after the spices that were once sold there, (erbe=spices in Italian), Verona’s most ancient piazza, was ‘the Forum’ during Roman times. It is now Verona’s commercial centre, a hub for shopping, café life, and people watching. Beautiful old buildings surround the Piazza in front of which lively market stalls sell food, spices and household goods, while the traders entertain the public as they have done since Roman times. It is around this area that you will find the prettiest streets and alleyways.

    Piazza del Bra

    The Via Mazzini, a high-end shopping area where the shops all bear famous fashion names, from Chanel to Dolce & Gabbana, links Piazza del Erbe with Piazza Bra, home to the famous Amphitheatre of Verona, usually called The Arena. Elegant ladies with tiny dogs parade down this street which on Sundays can become very crowded when it is time for the passeggiata, the ritual Sunday evening parade when all Italy turns out to display la bella figura.

    The Verona Arena

    I kept the best till last. The impeccably preserved Amphitheatre in the heart of old Verona and the city’s most famous site, is deserving of that much abused word, awesome. Rows of arches and curves dominate the skyline and form a centrepiece in Piazza Bra, the city’s largest public square.

    Piazza Bra and the Colosseum

    The square is lined with bustling restaurants and imposing buildings, notably the 19th century Palazzo Barbieri, a yellow building with a neoclassical façade that now serves as Verona’s Town Hall. Nearly two millennia old, the Colosseum used to hold up to 30,000 spectators at gladiatorial fights between men and men and men and beasts, who fought to the death on the sandy stage. And this glorious arena is not a dead relic of the past: it still entertains the masses although in a different way. No more are the crowds offered bread and circuses but performances of high art, most notably the world famous Verona Opera Festival which takes place every summer.

    Verona is a city for all, young and old, the seeker after history & ancient cultures and lovers looking to re-kindle an old love or find a new one, opera lovers who fill the Arena night after night during the summer, and fans of William Shakespeare who watch his dramas play out under the stars. There’s a jazz festival, a festival of street games, and even a horse fair. As I said, Verona is a city for everyone.

  • SILENT SUNDAY

    A Sunday lunch with Spanish friends can never be silent, in fact it will be quite the opposite. We had enjoyed lunch with old friends in Arco and were driving back to Ronda when we turned a corner, and there was a scene of such solitude and calm that we paused by the roadside to savour it. There must have been birdsong and goats bleating, but I can’t remember any sounds at all.

    Grazelema, Spain