Verona originated in prehistoric times, probably near the present day Pietra Bridge, and was very important in Roman times, becoming a municipality in 49 BC. Situated at the mouth of the Adige valley, in the Padana plain, at the crossroads of the Via Augusta, Via Gallica and Via Postumia, it was a well-known strategic and commercial center.
It became Christian in the 4th century, then successively a Lungobard duchy and headquarters of Pipino, King of Italy, during the Carolingian Empire. In the 11th century it was united with Bavaria and in 1136 it became a free city-state.
The appearance of the city, which had remained substantially the same since the Roman era, began to change, embellished with new civil and religious constructions.
After 1277 the Scaligeri rule asserted itself in Verona. Within a century, it became the prestigious capital of a state that at the peak of its power extended over much of the Venetian region and over a vast area of Emilia and Tuscany. In this period the walled city reached an extent that would not be overcome until the 1900's.
The Scaligeri rule fell in 1387, after which Verona was subjected to the Visconti and the Carraresi for a brief time. Then in 1405 Verona gave itself up spontaneously to the Venetian Republic, which maintained dominion over the city and its territories up until the French invasion. With the reign of the "Serenissima," as the Venetian Republic is called, Verona became a lively cultural and artistic center, thanks to the activity of architects like Fra' Giocondo, who was responsible for the loggia of the Counsel Hall, and above all thanks to Michele Sanmicheli, who circled the city with fortifications and beautified it with palaces.
Verona also developed a school of painting that included many artists, notably Pisonella and Veronese. In 1796 Verona was occupied by the Napoleonic troops, then in 1814 it was annexed to the Hapsburg Empire.
Finally in 1866 it joined the kingdom of Italy. |
