Parking: <\/strong>ZTL (limited traffic zone) \u2014 recommended car parks: Piazza Isolo, Arsenale, Cittadella<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nWhen to go<\/strong>: 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\u2019t 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 fa\u00e7ades of the Case Mazzanti.<\/p>\n\n\n\nA Roman forum that never stopped being a forum<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nWhat you\u2019re 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 \u2014 the temple dedicated to the Capitoline Triad of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva \u2014 whose remains survive today in the basements of Palazzo Maffei and can be visited by appointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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 \u201cPiazza delle Erbe\u201d (Square of Herbs) comes precisely from the medieval market of spices and vegetables. The people of Verona still call it simply \u201cPiazza Erbe\u201d, as if it were one of the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What to see: the monuments among the stalls<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe square isn\u2019t just a container of historic buildings: at its centre stand three monuments that most passers-by walk past without stopping \u2014 and yet they\u2019re worth knowing about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Madonna Verona fountain<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nIn 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: \u201cthis city, bearer of justice and lover of praise\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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 Lor\u00ec stream brought to the square through an aqueduct that crossed Ponte Pietra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The capitello (or berlina)<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThe square white-marble canopy you\u2019ll find near the fountain is called the capitello, or berlina. Beneath it the podest\u00e0 sat for their inauguration ceremony and the praetors took their oath. Carved into the steps and pillars are Verona\u2019s medieval trade measures \u2014 braccia, feet, ounces \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The market column and the Lion of St Mark<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nOn 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The surrounding buildings: ten centuries of architecture at a glance<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nOne 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Palazzo Maffei (west side, late Baroque, 17th century) \u2014 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<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Torre del Gardello (next to Palazzo Maffei) \u2014 Scaliger-era, one of the many medieval towers that once dotted Verona\u2019s skyline<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Case Mazzanti (north side) \u2014 the fa\u00e7ades frescoed in the 16th century by Alberto Cavalli are among the most photographed in the square, partly because the paint is sadly fading away<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Torre dei Lamberti (north side, 84 metres) \u2014 Verona\u2019s 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<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Domus Mercatorum (south side) \u2014 the merchants\u2019 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<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The fa\u00e7ades change style every three metres: Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Venetian and medieval follow one another seamlessly. It isn\u2019t disorder \u2014 it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The market: what it\u2019s like today<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe 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\u2019s transformation into a tourist destination. Some fresh-produce stalls remain, however, and the overall atmosphere \u2014 colourful, noisy, alive \u2014 hasn\u2019t lost its character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The people of Verona call it simply \u201cla piazza\u201d \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What to see nearby<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nPiazza delle Erbe is the natural hub from which almost all the main monuments of the historic centre can be reached on foot:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Piazza dei Signori \/ Piazza Dante (2 minutes through the Arco della Costa) \u2014 the heart of Scaliger power, the statue of Dante, the Arche Scaligere<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Casa di Giulietta (3 minutes south along Via Cappello) \u2014 the courtyard with the balcony and the statue<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Ponte Pietra (8 minutes north-east) \u2014 Verona\u2019s oldest Roman bridge<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Torre dei Lamberti (entrance on the square itself) \u2014 84 metres, 360\u00b0 panoramic view over the centre<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Via Sottoriva (5 minutes towards the river) \u2014 the medieval street with low porticoes, where the locals have lunch<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\u2019s just that two thousand years change the faces and the goods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":11111,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[282,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magazine-en","category-non-categorizzato"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/veronaguide.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/veronaguide.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/veronaguide.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veronaguide.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veronaguide.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11117"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/veronaguide.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11200,"href":"https:\/\/veronaguide.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11117\/revisions\/11200"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veronaguide.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/veronaguide.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veronaguide.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veronaguide.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}