Grezzana

The district of Grezzana is 7 kilometres apart from Verona and it includes the community of Alcenago, Azzago, Lugo, Romagnno, Rosaro e Stallavena. It is one of the main centers of the foothills of the Valpantena, the valley that from Verona leads up to the Lessini Mountains, through Poiano, Quinto and Marzana.

Throughout the territory we have been found traces of human activity dating back to the lower Paleotico.

Heart of the village is the ancient church of Santa Maria and Elizabeth, documented since 1145. The Church was restored after World War II, definitively losing the simple and solemn appearance of the original Romanesque church. To embellish the church today there are the altars and paintings of Prospero Schiavi, Felice Brusasorzi and Sante Creara, Michelangelo Spada.

Next to the church there is the bell tower (1213), which still retains the original Romanesque face. The base was built with reused material coming from the ruins of Roman buildings.

In addition to wine production, the town is known for the extraction and processing of marble, exported all over the world. Lugo di Grezzana houses the Consorzio Marmisti Valpantena.

Villa Arvedi is the largest of the Venetian villas in the province of Verona. It is located on the slope of a hill, surrounded by olive trees and a forest of oak and horn beam. Documented since the thirteenth century, the Villa was a property of Mastino, Alberto and Cangrande della Scala. Villa Arvedi was established in its present form in the mid-seventeenth century and it become property of the Arvedi family in 1824. The Room of the Titans and the little church are dedicated to San Carlo Borromeo and they are entirely frescoed by famous French painter Louis Dorigny (1654-1742). Other frescoes are works of Paolo Farinati and Sante Prunati.

Another important villa is the so-called “Red Palace”, due to the red brick color of its exterior. The villa was erected in 1580 by the will of Ludovico Bevilacqua Lazise. The rich painted decoration is particularly interesting. The frescoes were rediscovered in the early twentieth century, restored by the famous painter Angelo Zamboni, who integrated the paintings with original solutions. The original part dates back to the sixteenth and the seventeenth century.

In Grezzana, we also have the San Micheletto in Tavignana Chruch. San Micheletto was a gathering place for the shepherds during the transhumance period, before going up the mountain and during their return. In 1630, during the terrible plague, it was used as a leper hospital. During this period the Confraternity of San Micheletto was established. In the eighteenth century the structure was fixed in its present form. Inside the Church there is a 15th century fresco, depicting a beautiful “Madonna and Child”, framed with red marble. Although today the Church of San Micheletto is facing the street, it still remains a place of great charm and ancient memories.

In the village of Stallavena there are the so-called Shelter Tagliente (“Riparo Tagliente”) and the Shelter Falasco (“Riparo Falasco”). The Riparo Tagliente is an archaeological site discovered in 1958 by F. Tagliente. Some buildings in excellent state of preservation can be date back to the Paleolithic times. On the opposite side of the valley of the Shelter Tagliente (“Riparo Tagliente”) there is Shelter Falasco("Riparo Falasco").This is a site under rock inhabited since prehistoric times. Today the shelter looks like a charming complex. It is composed of remains of the mighty wall constructions, the Tower of Sedge and a robust cylindrical structure with an internal staircase leading to the refuge of the bandit and monumental rock walls.

Northeast of Grezzana, there is the Vajo del Paradiso. It is a narrow and deep valley of fluvial origin and is a place of great interest to lovers of geology, paleontology, and botany. There is much proof of human history from prehistory to the early Christian age (rock paintings and the remains of a protohistoric settlement, with fossil species, animals and plants).

In the locality of Bellori, there is a traditional water mill of the sixteenth century. Thanks to the City of Grezzana in 1981, it has been restored. Inside some of the panels illustrate the method of working of cereals (milling) and the distribution of water mills on the territory. Particularly impressive are the large wooden wheel, the two millstones, the elevator and the sifters to sift the products of the mill.

The Santa Viola Fort was built between 1904 and 1913 and it is located between the Valpantena and Val Squaranto. The part facing west has a characteristic shape of a 'pincer close', protected by a deep moat. It was equipped with eight cannons placed along the entire front of the fort.