Piazza delle Erbe in Verona: what to see, the market and the secrets of the city’s oldest square

There is a place in Verona where the Romans did politics, the Scaligeri administered justice, the Venetians displayed their lion, and where today fruit, vegetables and souvenirs are sold. All in the same space, centuries apart. Piazza delle Erbe is the oldest square in the city and stands exactly on the site of the Roman forum. It keeps the same proportions, the same orientation and the same role as the centre of public life. It’s just that two thousand years change the faces and the goods.

The square is free, always open, and the market runs from Monday to Saturday. But really stopping to look at it — understanding what those monuments among the stalls are, reading the buildings all around — takes a little more than a quick selfie.

To find out where to fit Piazza delle Erbe into your Verona itinerary, read our article on what to see in Verona in one day.

Practical information

• Access: Free, always open
• Market: Monday–Saturday, from morning to late afternoon
• Getting there: 5 minutes on foot from Piazza Bra via Via Mazzini · 2 minutes from Piazza dei Signori
• Accessibility: Fully accessible
• Parking: ZTL (limited traffic zone) — recommended car parks: Piazza Isolo, Arsenale, Cittadella

When to go: early morning is the best time. The market has just opened, the low-angled light brings out the colours of the buildings, and the tourists haven’t yet taken over the square. In the middle of the day on a summer Saturday it can be hard to move between the stalls. Late afternoon casts a beautiful light on the frescoed façades of the Case Mazzanti.

A Roman forum that never stopped being a forum

What you’re walking on is the paving of the Roman city centre: Piazza delle Erbe occupies exactly the area of the ancient forum, with the same elongated rectangular shape and the same orientation. In the north-west corner stood the Capitolium — the temple dedicated to the Capitoline Triad of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva — whose remains survive today in the basements of Palazzo Maffei and can be visited by appointment.

With the end of the Empire, the Roman buildings gave way to medieval ones, but the function stayed the same: market, public ceremonies, political life. The name “Piazza delle Erbe” (Square of Herbs) comes precisely from the medieval market of spices and vegetables. The people of Verona still call it simply “Piazza Erbe”, as if it were one of the family.

In 1915, during the First World War, the square was hit by an Austrian air raid: it was one of the first bombings of civilians in history. A monument at the edge of the square still keeps its memory alive today.

What to see: the monuments among the stalls

The square isn’t just a container of historic buildings: at its centre stand three monuments that most passers-by walk past without stopping — and yet they’re worth knowing about.

The Madonna Verona fountain

In the middle of the square, surrounded by stalls, is a fountain topped by a female figure holding a scroll that bears the old motto of the Commune: “this city, bearer of justice and lover of praise”.

It is a Roman statue from the 1st century AD, restored in later centuries. The fountain itself, however, is medieval and was commissioned by Cansignorio della Scala in 1368, when he had the water of the Lorì stream brought to the square through an aqueduct that crossed Ponte Pietra.

The capitello (or berlina)

The square white-marble canopy you’ll find near the fountain is called the capitello, or berlina. Beneath it the podestà sat for their inauguration ceremony and the praetors took their oath. Carved into the steps and pillars are Verona’s medieval trade measures — braccia, feet, ounces — used to regulate the markets. A kind of official register in stone, on display to everyone so that no one could cheat on weight or length.

The market column and the Lion of St Mark

On the side of the square facing Via Cappello stands a column topped by a Gothic aedicule from 1401, commissioned by Gian Galeazzo Visconti to display the insignia of the Duchy of Milan. When Verona came under the Republic of Venice, the Visconti insignia were chiselled off and nothing needed to be put in their place, because in front of Palazzo Maffei there already stood a white-marble column bearing the Lion of St Mark, an unmistakable symbol of who was in charge.

The surrounding buildings: ten centuries of architecture at a glance

One of the most rewarding things you can do in this square is lift your eyes from the stalls and slowly turn around on the spot. Each side tells the story of a different era.

• Palazzo Maffei (west side, late Baroque, 17th century) — closes the short side of the square, with six statues of Roman deities on top: Jupiter, Hercules, Minerva, Venus, Mercury, Apollo. It stands on the exact spot of the Roman Capitolium. Today it houses the Museo Maffei with the collection of the Fondazione Carlon
• Torre del Gardello (next to Palazzo Maffei) — Scaliger-era, one of the many medieval towers that once dotted Verona’s skyline
• Case Mazzanti (north side) — the façades frescoed in the 16th century by Alberto Cavalli are among the most photographed in the square, partly because the paint is sadly fading away
• Torre dei Lamberti (north side, 84 metres) — Verona’s tallest tower, whose bells once marked the rhythm of city life. Admission is charged and the view from the top is one of the best over the city
• Domus Mercatorum (south side) — the merchants’ house rebuilt in 1301 by Alberto I della Scala, with a portico, mullioned windows and battlements. Over time it has been put to many different uses; the 19th-century renovation altered its original Romanesque forms

The façades change style every three metres: Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Venetian and medieval follow one another seamlessly. It isn’t disorder — it’s the story of those who built, demolished, rebuilt and reworked the same square for two thousand years. Look up as you walk around the edge.

The market: what it’s like today

The Piazza delle Erbe market runs from Monday to Saturday and keeps alive a tradition more than two thousand years old. The mix of stalls has changed over time: once they mainly sold vegetables, spices, hides and pottery; today souvenirs and street food have grown considerably, reflecting the city’s transformation into a tourist destination. Some fresh-produce stalls remain, however, and the overall atmosphere — colourful, noisy, alive — hasn’t lost its character.

The people of Verona call it simply “la piazza” — the square. The market is still a meeting place for those who live in the historic centre, not just a tourist attraction. Early in the morning, before the coaches arrive, you see the square at its most authentic.

What to see nearby

Piazza delle Erbe is the natural hub from which almost all the main monuments of the historic centre can be reached on foot:

• Piazza dei Signori / Piazza Dante (2 minutes through the Arco della Costa) — the heart of Scaliger power, the statue of Dante, the Arche Scaligere
• Casa di Giulietta (3 minutes south along Via Cappello) — the courtyard with the balcony and the statue
• Ponte Pietra (8 minutes north-east) — Verona’s oldest Roman bridge
• Torre dei Lamberti (entrance on the square itself) — 84 metres, 360° panoramic view over the centre
• Via Sottoriva (5 minutes towards the river) — the medieval street with low porticoes, where the locals have lunch