Laura, Verona
When I think of ‘my Italy’, the place I’m usually daydreaming about is the city of Verona, which can be found in north-east Italy in the Veneto region.
Verona’s not one of Italy’s largest cities, but it is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful. In 2004, when I was still at university, I spent 5 months in Verona as part of my languages degree, so I have a lot of wonderful memories connected with this city.
Verona makes a lot of people go a bit mushy and dreamy as it’s famously one of the most romantic cities on earth. Juliet’s balcony has been a tourist attraction since the 1930s and thousands of people flock to the city each year to see the casa di Giulietta (Juliet’s house) and the endless declarations of love that adorn the external walls. There’s a club of agony aunts who answer all of the letters written to Juliet each year – known as the Club di Giulietta – and in the courtyard you’ll find a bronze statue of the lady herself. Legend has it that if you touch her right breast it will bring you good luck!
One of my favourite things to do in Verona in the summer was to take a walk around the city centre and watch people enjoy the city. From the university I would head across the river Adige and into the city centre, past Juliet’s balcony and into Piazza Erbe, a lively square filled with bars, shops and stalls. From here I’d walk down Via Mazzini, sometimes stopping to browse in Fiorucci, my favourite shop (which sadly no longer exists) and finally I’d spend some time watching the world go by in beautiful Piazza Brà, home of the Arena di Verona.
Amongst other favourite memories, I regularly used to go out for drinks with my Erasmus buddies at El Tropico Latino near Piazza Erbe and at Campus Bar on Via XX Settembre, where they never bothered to change their background music – I think I listened to Beyoncé and 50 Cent on rotation every Thursday for 4 months! I had two great groups of friends in Verona – a big group of Italians and these lovely people below who were on their Erasmus year at the same time as me. I’m still in touch with Leila (far left) and Alison (middle left) and I’m still holding out for some sort of Erasmus reunion in Verona in the not too distant future! Here we are having a serious cultural evening in Pavia, near Milan (not really, we’re at a cheesy pop concert!):
This blog post has also left me dreaming of ice cream from the Venchi gelateria on Via Mazzini (gorgeous, flavoursome ice cream and they don’t scrimp on scoops!), and amazing stone-baked pizzas cooked from scratch in the university canteen! I also remember visiting a friend’s house in the hills above Verona for pasquetta (Easter Monday) and having a huge spread of food. I’m sure this included something like parmigiana di melanzane as I remember being lightly told off by an Italian friend for not cutting aubergines properly!
Now it’s over to you! We want to hear about your Italy. If you’d like to write your own post for our Tigellae blog just get in touch with us via the contact page or leave us a short message in the comments.
Ciao for now! I’ll leave you with this picture of me and my dad with Verona city centre in the background!
Laura