Castelvecchio Bridge

Verona Roman Colosseum

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• published: 01 Nov 2013
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10/16 Wednesday The big attraction in Verona is the Roman Coliseum. It's almost fully intact, although it was never totally restored after a 12th Century earthquake knocked all the marble off the walls. It's used today for performances, and the opera series is world famous. The photos of the full stadium and stage sets are awesome. It's interesting to visit, but odd as well, because it's not unlike going into any city arena when there's no show, only with stone seating. There's no line waiting to go in, and the remnants of past events are all over the place: empty ice-cream coolers, beverage stands, lighting set-ups, assorted litter of Pepsi cups and wrappers. The only historical information to be had is from a coin-operated video with a hand-held speaker, which took our Euro and didn't have any audio. We learned enough from our visits to Rome and Pula to appreciate the place. Of the three, we found the best experience at Pula, where you can walk on the actual arena floor. We also come across some of the most annoying buskers in Verona. They make a sort of puppety character with the persons' face sticking out. One, for example, is a box with a pet carrier on it, with the guy's head sticking out in spotted dog make-up, working puppet dog-paws. Another guy has a onesie-wrapped baby puppet in a stroller, with his own head on the baby, working puppet baby-hands. This baby guy uses a radio-controlled car with a money cup on it to harass viewers for coin. The defining feature is a horrible high-pitched squeaky voice coming from some kind of device, making nonsense conversation "Dur de dur de dur dur de DURRRR." Fortunately, they have limited mobility, so we can avoid them. The Castlevecchio is the Medieval fortress of the Scaligeri dynasty of Verona. Most of the castle grounds are open to the public, and lead to a fortified bridge across the river that's a very popular stroll. We also go into the castle museum to see the collections and the interior of the fort. There is an extensive collection of 12th century sculpture, frescos, and religious art, all quite beautiful work. A popular figure is a statue of a price on horseback with the family crest on his helmet: The prince's nickname was "Cangrande" or "Big Dog" as the tour leaders love to say, and his helmet has a big dog face on it. Not unlike the busker puppet guy, now that I think of it. For more video and travel tales, follow our blog at http://bpeurope2013.blogspot.com/.