Itinerary 5: Torricelle

So our route starts right from the Torricellei: you can leave your car in the free parking lot of the Don Mazza Institute ( San Carlo street ) or calculate 2 hours in the nearby municipal parking lots and walk up to discover the hillside defense system. If, however, you prefer to explore them by car, it is advisable, for those arriving from Valpolicella, take Ippolito Nievo street, which is entered from San Giorgio in Braida.

Art lovers can, before taking the Bastioni route, visit two important churches: San Giorgio in Braida and Santo Stefano.

San Giorgio, built at the end of the 15th century, boasts a 16th-century sanmichelian bell tower and a 17th-century facade on which you can still see the bullet holes from the French artillery that clashed with the Austrian artillery during the battle to conquer the city in 1805. The real gem, however, is the interior, full of singular paintings that Goethe called "a gallery of good paintings." The creators include Jacopo and Domenico Tintoretto, Francesco Montemezzano, Felice Brusasorzi, Giovanni Francesco Caroto, Romanino, Paolo Farinati, Girolamo dai Libri, Moretto da Brescia, and Paolo Veronese, author of the Martyrdom of
Saint George.

Santo Stefano, not far away, is one of Verona's early Christian basilicas. It arose probably around the 5th century just outside the Roman walls. There are numerous valuable paintings in the church, including those by Alessandro Turchi, known as "Orbetto", frescoes by Brusasorzi, Martino da Verona, and Giovan Francesco Caroto. The characteristic and scenic octagonal tiburium (an architectural element, which encloses a dome inside) houses six bells.
Walking along the hairpin bends leading to the top of the hill, it is possible to enjoy striking panoramic views. Continue on Castel San Felice street, following the signs for the campsite, turning right under the archway of the entrance to the Castel San Pietro complex (Austrian barracks built on the ruins of the ancient Visconti castle), where you pupark.
From here there is a wonderful view of the city of Verona. Standing out for their majesty are the Torre dei Lamberti and the bell towers of Santa Anastasia and the Duomo.

The ancient Roman vestiges of the city can be recognized in the orderly grid of narrow streets in the center, in the Ponte romano della Pietra, rebuilt by anastylosis after its destruction during the retreat of the Germans of 1945, and in the Teatro Romano, nestled in a natural basin and still a venue for theatrical performances. Returning to the entrance arch of Castel San Pietro, one begins the walking trail that skirts the ramparts to the left of the Adige River in about an hour and a half.

The defensive system of Verona covers more than 9 km and nearly 100 hectares; it consists of bastions, forts, entrenched camps, storehouses and barracks. It was built by the Austrian Empire, to supplement and complete the previous system of fortifications of the Venetian Republic, between 1833 and 1866. General Radetzky was the main advocate for the construction of the Forts on the right and left Adige when Verona was chosen as the main stronghold of the Habsburg Quadrilateral (1848), and military architect Franz von Scholl was the designer.

Continuing with the path, one encounters the Rondella della Bacola. Back along the walls you continue on to Castel San Felice and descend again alongside numerous Scaliger towers to the outer Rondelle della Grotta and San Zeno in Monte. Then reaching the small Church of San Zeno in Monte, you glimpse the Austrian Rondella Casamatta and proceed to the Batteria di controscarpa.
Back inside the walls, you find the Bastione di Santa Toscana on your left and then reach Porta Vescovo. It dates from the Scaliger period, but was remodeled during the 16th century under the auspices of the Serenissima and in the 19th century by the Austrians. The route proceeds past the Bastione delle Maddalene, the Campofiore Gate and the Habsburg Provianda Establishment of "Santa Marta," now the seat of the University of Verona, to the Bastione di Campo Marzio.

Finally, near the gateway of Porta Vittoria Nuova stands on the bank of the Adige River the spur of the Lower Catena erected by Antonio della Scala. After finishing the walk, in 20 minutes, you will back walking along the river, to the Ponte della Pietra, in the vicinity of a steep flight of steps that leads back to the square of Castel San Pietro.
For further exploration, one can drive up by taking Marsala Street and reach the four casemate towers, called Massimiliane Towers in reference to the towers of Linz devised between 1831 and 1833 by Archduke Massimiliano of Habsburg-Este, the Archduchess Sofia Tower and Forts San Mattia and San Leonardo, transformed by the Stigmatines, into the Santuario di Santa Maria di Lourdes in the 20th century.