Verona, Italy ~ Romeo & Juliet “City of Love”

Below is a sculpture symbolizing the legend of Rome’s origin.

The architecture in Verona, Italy is beautiful with buildings painted in various hues of yellows, oranges, and peach that come from the earth’s soil native to the area. Green is the color of choice for window shutters. The streets are for pedestrians only to casually visit shops and trattorie.

Small balconies with tall, shuttered windows adorn every building facade.

With no yards or large gardens, plants on the balconies are well-cared for and very healthy . . . trailing down everywhere.

Aged iron balconies, arches, green plants and flowers . . . Verona is a visual treat.

This window style is somewhat Moorish and continues in Venice.

Fresh flowers in window boxes were everywhere !!

More flowers and greenery on a more formal balcony with arched windows against a brilliant orange-painted building! Attention to detail can be seen everywhere.

More shades of yellow, peach, and green with tiny plant-filled balconies.

Strolling down “Via Mazzini”, this building’s architectural design is from Renaissance times and is iworth stopping and staring up at. This antiquity in design and structure is very typical of Verona’s buildings.

Today, Gucci is located in this beautiful building with Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, Tiffany, and Dolce & Gabbana located nearby on the same street. There are also more moderately priced shops in the mix.

And of course, there were lots of choices for good Italian street food!

This was a sweet little French boutique with a charming window display.

Next, these are pretty hot stuff for one who is tall and thin. The burgundy socks bring some cleverness to this look.

This (below) was my dream bag that I could not even think of bringing home with me. This gorgeous bag boasted heavily embossed leather, yet it was so balanced with the simple design of the bag itself. Very tastefully designed!

Now take a look at this . . . a plain sweatshirt adorned with an outrageously awesome rhinestone pin embellishment. To make this even more fabulous was the one single green emerald rhinestone hanging on the end. Wow!

This plain, almost dowdy-looking outfit was elevated to another level by a similar pin with blue studs instead next to a ‘typical’ Burberry scarf. I’ve never understood the rage for such an unattractive plaid print; there is absolutely nothing unique about it.

Lots of neutrals dominated Italian fashion (at least in the Verona shops when I was there). With it being October, there were also a lot of faux fur accents to add textural interest.

Even though neutrals were dominant, the textural elements really made the designs pop. What a beautiful skirt!

My efforts to not splurge money on anything came to a sudden halt when my cousins took me into Zanellato. The brand’s “Postina” bag with the double clasp openings is quite the rage in Italy. It’s a huge handbag that was influenced by the movie “Il Postino” (a story about a poor Italian postal mailman who fell in love and the saga behind it. He carried the mail in an old, weathered leather post bag that inspired the design of this bag’s style). And that’s just about what these handbags look like. I’ve been addicted to this brand ever since my first purchase that afternoon in Verona, and now have a cherished collection.

Zanelleto also offers its own brand of apparel . . . classy and beautiful!

Now (below) . . . this is my kind of store to shop, get lost, and go crazy in! Ceramics, especially Italian “ceramiche” (ceramics, pottery)! It took a lot of discipline, but I managed to stay clear.

We stopped in Tiffany’s so that Silvia and Cristina could do some shopping. As I waited for them, two kind men served me some cold Italian water. I was amazed at how every visual element was so intricately coordinated: from the turquoise blue ceiling and counter lights that circled the jewelry cases to the attendant’s necktie and pocket scarf and beyond.

Notice below how even the chair’s upholstery fabric and the booklets set out on the table coordinate in Tiffany blue? It’s always the attention to little details that makes such a difference between mediocrity and excellence.

And wasn’t just any bottle of water that they served me. It was an Italian bottle of water in a glass color that mirrored the famed Tiffany blue. And quite accidentally, I captured the reflection of the blue signage on the glass table top!

After leaving Tiffany’s, this quaint trattoria, Tre Marchetti, caught Silvia’s attention. We stepped inside to get a glimpse of the interior.

Oh my goodness! This was just a precious, quaint, cozy, intimate, romantic little trattoria with no more than eight small tables. We promised that we would come here the next time in Verona.

The painted walls were just extraordinary! Fresh flowers. Candles lit. White cloth tablecloths and napkins. Parquet floor. Venetian Murano glass chandelier.

NICE!

We turned off the main marble-covered pedestrian street and walked down a much more narrow, cobblestone-covered street.

Along with walking, riding bikes is very common on the car-less streets. No auto smog in Verona! And one reason why Italians can eat so well and yet stay so in shape.

We set off for a late lunch while walking amidst more yellow and orange buildings with large green hanging plants from balconies.

Silvia and Cristina took me to their favorite trattoria, a Michelin Guide restaurant, Locanda 4 Cuochi.

With an open kitchen, the chefs were hopping!

The award-winning menu (below) that changes every month. It was not easy deciding what to enjoy for lunch.

What do you think you would have chosen to order?

Literally every meal, except breakfast, began with a wonderful red wine!

This bowl of gnocchi in a fresh tomato sauce with pistachios, basil, and herbs was just incredible!

With lunch complete, we headed off to Juliet’s house (and balcony).

Signs show the way to Juliet’s house to guide you along the way.

Personally, I just liked the red bike!!!!

The entrance gate to the courtyard of the “House of Capulet” (Juliet’s family name).

Immediately, you are in a swarm of hundreds of people, pushing and shoving to take photos of the balcony and of themselves. It’s crazy and, truthfully, was not very enjoyable. I recall being there for no more than ten minutes due to the insanity of the crowd. We were told that the slow time to visit is during winter.

Graffiti of love notes and wall scribblings cover every inch of the walls when you enter through the gate to Juliet’s courtyard. Some would call this art. Many people consider it to be defacing property.

What do you think?

It’s against the law to do this, but very difficult to enforce.

Love notes and wishes for love are pasted on every inch of available wall space. They are removed every night. Actually, despite the fact mentioned that there is a law against doing this, the majority of people ignore both the law and any official who is assigned to stop it. Actually, love notes are pasted even further down the street, well beyond the Capulet house.

Amidst the EXTREMELY crowded courtyard, you’re finally able to look up and see the famous balcony where Juliet was said to cry out to Romeo in Sheakspeare’s famous tragedy.

The famous 1968 Franco Zeffirelli film was not produced here but rather was filmed in Umbria due to the small size of this courtyard and the number of people who visit.

As you leave the courtyard of Juliet’s house, there are numerous souvenir shops for tokens of affection. This shop featured embroidered satin hearts.

And now on to our last stop in Verona, Piazza de la Herpes, which means “Herb Street.” It’s home to a large outdoor fresh market, along with other items to buy. In Roman times, this was the ‘forum’ and center of parliament. There are more brick buildings in this square, which later became the Jewish ghetto of Verona, Italy.

Even though this architecture is constructed of brick, it still includes decorative arches, plaques, and sculptures with other forms of adornment.

In the center of the square is the green market. This vendor was selling fresh fruit parfaits. In October, the fruit was still bursting with flavor!