The fortified walls of Verona

If you want to discovers the defence system on the hills by foot you can leave your car in teh free-parking lot of the Don Mazza Insitute in Via San Carlo, or calculate two hours in the municipal parking lots nearby. If you prefer to go by car, it is advisable for those coming from Valpolicella to begin in Via Ippolito Nievo, which starts at san Giorgio in Braida. Either way, before visiting the walls art lovers can look around two important churches: San Giorgio in Braida and Santo Stefano.

San Giorgio built in the late 15th century, boasts a 16th century bell tower by Sanmicheli and a 17th century facade on which you can still see the bullet holes left by the French artillery when they fought the Austrians to conquer the city in 1805.

But the real gem is the interior, which has a wealth of unique paintings. Goethe called it a "gallery of good paintings". The artists are Jacopo and Domenico Tintoretto, Francesco Montemezzano, Felice Brusasorzi, Giovanni Francesco Caroto, Romanino, Paolo Farinati, Girolamo dai Libri, Moretto da Brescia and Paolo Veronese who painted the Martyrdom of St. George. 

Santo Stefano, not far away, is one of the Early Christian basilicas of Verona. It was probably built around the 5th century just outside the Roman walls. In the church there are numerous valuable paintings, including those of Alessandro Turchi, known as Orbetto, frescoes by Brusasorzi, by Martino da Verona and by Giovan Francesco Caroto. The characteristic and Eye-catching octagonal lantern tower (an architectural element which encloses a dome) houses six bells.

Along the hairpin bends leading to the top of the hill the views are striking. Continue along Via Castel San Felice, following signs for the camping area, turn right under the entrance arch to the complex of Castel San Pietro, the former Austrian military barracks built on the ruins of the ancient Visconti Castle, where you can park.

From here you can enjoy a wonderful view of the city of Verona. The Lamberti tower and the bell towers of Sant'Anastasia and the Cathedral stand out for their magnificence.

You can make out the ancient Roman layout of the city and its buildings by the orderly grid of narrow streets of the centre, the Roman Ponte Pietra (Stone Bridge) rebuilt just as it was after being in 1945, and the Roman Theatre, built in a natural valley and still used as a theatre. Returning to the entrance arch of the complex of Castel San Pietro you then take the footpath that runs along the bulwarks on the left of the Adige. The walk will take you about an hour and a half. 

The defensive system of Verona is over 9 km long and covers an area of about 100 hectares. It consists of bulwarks, forts, entrenched camps, warehouses and barracks. It was built by the Austrian Empire, integrating and completing the previous system of fortifications of the Venetian Republic, between 1833 and 1866. General Radetzky was the main supporter of the construction of the forts on the right and left of the Adige when Verona was chosen as the main fortified area of the Hapsburg Quadrilatero (1848). The military architect Franz von Scholl was the creator.

The first thing you meet along the route is the Rondella della Bacola (Bacola round tower). Returning to the walls, proceed towards Castel San Felice and then descend, passing by many medieval Scaligeri towers until you reach the Rondella della Grotta and the Rondella di San Zeno in Monte, outside the walls. When you reach the church of San Zeno in Monte, you will see the Rondella Casamatta Austriaca. Proceed to the Batteria di Controscarpa. 

Once back inside the walls, on the left is the Santa Toscana Bulwark and just ahead Porta Vescovo (Bishop's Gate). This dates back to the Scaligeri period, but was remodelled during the 16th century under the rule of the Republic of Venice (Serenissima Repubblica) and i the 19th century by the Austrians. The route proceeds along the Bulwark of the Maddalene, the Campofiore Gate and the Habsurg's Stabilimento della Provianda (supplies store) "Santa Marta", home today to the University of Verona, then onward to the Campo Marzio Bulwark.

Finally, near the gate Porta Nuova Vittoria on the banks of the Adige you will find the buttress of the Catena inferiore (the chain which in the old days was drawn across the river to prevent sailing during the night) built by Antonio della Scala. Another 20 minutes walk along the river will take you back to Ponte Pietra, where some steep steps will lead you back up to Castel San Pietro.

If you would like to see more, go by car, take Via Marsala, to the four casemate towers, called Maximilian towers in reference to the towers of Linz designed between 1831 and 1833 by Archduke Maximilian of Hapsburg-Este. The ones of our walls are the Archduchess Sofia Tower, the Forts of San Mattia and San Leonardo, this last one turned into the Sanctuary of Santa Maria di Lourdes in the 20th century by a religious congregation, the Stigmatines