Some may disagree, but I would argue that no matter where you go in Italy, you will find beauty. It may be in the architecture, the landscape, the cuisine; but for me, it ultimately comes down to the people. And having discovered the beauty of places like Tuscany, the Cinque Terre and Trieste, I’m ready to try something else.
Unusually for me, this trip starts with a budget airline. Yes, you can reach Verona by train from London ina little over a day and yes, I like to promote sustainable travel. But the temptation of a return flight from my local airport in early July for less than €100 was just too much to resist.
Obviously, this being a budget airline the fare was the basic one. Adding a checked in bag brought the cost closer to €160; still good for the start of the high season. I have cleverly timed it to avoid the start of the school summer holidays and East Midlands Airport is thankfully quiet on a Wednesday afternoon. This is also a late flight, though not too late, arriving in Italy at 8pm.
For this trip I’ve chosen the city of Verona as my base. Situated in the centre of Northern Italy, it’s around 130km from Venice, but sits within the Veneto region, one of the many independent republics that went up to make Italy today. The first settlers, the Veneti, pre date the Romans. History, ancient and modern, is in the DNA of this place and I’m interested to see whether that fusion seen in places like Trieste – where Northern Europe meets the Adriatic – is also a feature here.
Verona Airport is labelled as the “Gateway to the Dolomites”, though it’s rather a small gate, or more precisely three electronic passport gates for non EU visitors. I mistakenly joined this queue, despite having an Irish passport. But the e-gates turned out to be more efficient than the system for the locals and it took less than ten minutes to get through immigration. This was a welcome surprise, after reports of lengthy lines at other European airports this year.
The airport is around 8km from the city itself, and the 199 bus runs every twenty minutes with a single fare of €7 – a taxi here would be closer to €35. I opt for an €11 ticket which lasts 24 hours. The bus has only one stop, at Porta Nuovo train station. Almost everywhere in the city centre is walkable from here, though temperatures are still around 30c at 8.30pm. I’m pleased to find the Hotel Leon D’oro just a 10 minute walk. It isn’t the most pleasant of strolls, cosssing a six lane road and using a graffiti-laden tunnel under the railway bridge, but the D’oro itself isn’t too shabby.
The double bass motif in my room isn’t just a quirky bit of decoration. Over a drink in the hotel bar I notice a few more of the real instruments and a collection of top hats. All of this is in honour of Giovanni Botestini, one of the most famous composers for the double bass. He wasn’t from Verona – but is considered to be one of Nothern Italy’s biggest musical figures. You may not have heard of him, but Guiseppe Verdi had – asking him to conduct at the premiere of Aidi in Cairo in 1871.
It’s a little late to be venturing out, but my first couple of hours in Verona have already been surprising. I think I’m going to like it here.
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