Basilica di Santa Anastasia
WITH travel returning with a vengeance among Filipinos after COVID’s enforced inertia, many have been visiting interesting destinations and sharing their discoveries on social media. Recently, Jaime Ponce de Leon, the maverick behind Leon Gallery (founded in 2010) as well as some of Manila’s banner auctions since 2013 (the March 2018 record sale of José Joya’s 1959 masterpiece Space Transfiguration for P112 million comes to mind), shared scenes from the stunning city of Verona in Veneto, Italy. The city was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2000, and is set to host the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in 2026.
Verona was also the setting of two of William Shakespeare’s plays, Romeo and Juliet and The Two Gentlemen of Verona, although there is no factual evidence that the English bard was ever in Verona. Still, he did the city a huge favor, and tourists charmed by Verona have him to thank, as well, for the fame that drew them to visit.
Jaime offers more trivia from the journey:
“We did a day trip from Milan, which is a two-hour drive away, and Verona lies in between Milan and Venice. Aside from its fame, being Shakespeare’s setting for Romeo and Juliet, there is so much to see—architecture, art, and enjoy the good food.
The Castelvecchio
The Castelvecchio
Among the famous artists from Verona is Paolo Veronese (1528–1588, the Italian Renaissance painter who was born there, but was later based in the city of Venice). Many churches are adorned with paintings by Veronese, Titian (circa 1488–1576), and Tintoretto (1518–1594).
Gianfrancesco Caroto (1478-1555) worked alongside Leonardo Da Vinci and to use his models.
Gate from the Roman Period
Another pride of Verona is Giovanni Francesco Caroto (1478-1555), who worked alongside Leonardo Da Vinci. He had the opportunity to work in da Vinci’s studio and used his models, and also trained under Veronese.
The hills of Verona
