March 13, 2020
OPERA MUSIC, AS LOCALS DO IT
For Verona people, Opera music is always in the outdoors!
But how do locals get organized to see an Opera in their famous Roman Amphitheater? What are the skills that they have acquired to make the most of an Arena Opera night? There are two “serious” issues:
- First, operas can be really long
- Second, Opera singers sing in Italian but…it is a very old-fashioned kind of language, let aside that it is rhymed, and with very loooong vowels
Here you find our tip: buy a 25 EU not numbered step-stone gradinata non numerata seat. Apart from saving money:
- You won’t feel guilty if the Opera is too long and you want to leave: Italians feel free to do that. You don’t need to stay up to the end to enjoy the magic.
- It is your way of “making it local”: in fact the majority of foreigners buy a numbered seat, while locals don’t.
- You can carry food and drinks.
- You can stretch your legs if you choose a place close to the exit stairs.
- In very hot summer nights, you get some breeze.
- You get the sense of the incredible space you are in!
Buy tickets here
AVOID NOISE POLLUTION
Consider incorporating silent stops in your city tour and enjoy the silence.
- Biblioteca civica, the public library. Very central, always open (except on Monday morning), former Jesuit convent with many cloisters that are still visible, kind staff, many locals around, little section of non-Italian books
- Cimitero monumentale, open- air museum of local sculptures, including a Jewish section. Indulge in a paced voyage in the City of the Dead. Here you find tombstones of many city celebs from the past.
The public library: Biblioteca civica
The city cemetery: Cimitero monumentale
(You cannot say that you know a city if you haven’t seen its library and cemetery, isn’t it?)
SKIP THE LINE. BEWARE OF MARKETPLACES!
Veronacard is the skip-the-line pass for all city monuments. You can easily buy it at the booth of the first attraction you decide to visit (be it a church, or a museum, or public transportation).
Choosing the “Groups” or “Veronacard” entrance, you easily purchase and start to use your pass.
There is no added value in buying the Verona card online in advance on marketplaces: you don’t save money and you pay a fee to the global over-tourism economy, without feeding the local one.
NO PLASTIC, BE TRENDY
When possible, avoid buying plastic bottles of water while sightseeing. Bring your very trendy refillable bottle with you: water in Verona is very good, both in taste and quality.
The most central drinking fountains are:
- Via Mazzini, the shopping street of Verona, at the pharmacy Alle Campane
- Piazza Bra, the main square where the Roman Arena is
- Piazza Erbe, the market square in the middle of downtown
- Playground Arsenale, just across the Castelvecchio bridge
- Piazza Indipendenza gardens, near the Juliet’s house
- Santo Stefano, just across Ponte Pietra
- Piazza Vittorio Veneto, in the core of the residential, elegant Borgo Trento
Here you find a map of all the drinking fountains in Verona city
BUY HEALTHY
Verona is the hub for Italian agro- food production. Prefer clean, local produce. There are 3 farmer markets in Verona downtown:
- On Tuesdays in piazza Cittadella, near the Arena
- On Thurdays in the Arsenale area, close to Castelvecchio
- On Saturdays in piazza Isolo, near Ponte Nuovo
You also become a part of the lively local atmosphere. You won’t find strawberries in March or artichokes in September. Check out here
These are the things to do in Verona Italy if you decide to spend a holiday in our country
