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Verona History
Verona, wonderful city located along the Adige River and at the base of the Lessini Mountains (today a National Park) has been the site of various human settlements for the past 300,000 years. Early settlers, who began working with materials other than flint, used stone as one of the principle natural resources. They fashioned numerous objects from instruments for use in daily life to religious artifacts.
When the region was first affected by Roman civilization, it was probably inhabited by Celts. The Emperor reinforced the city's defenses with strong city walls. Extraordinary monuments were built and the urban structure began to take shape. It was an interesting mix of the Medieval and modern.
Over the years, Verona became a very notable city due to its geographical location (even today, it is an important industrial and commercial gateway to the north of Italy) and its ports give access to northern Europe. For this cause, it became one of the most highly developed urban centers in Italy.
After the consecutive barbarian invasions among the fifth and tenth centuries, Verona was finally made a Free City at the beginning of the thirteenth century. After a hard struggle against Frederico Barbarossa, the city came under the rule of the Scala family in 1260. It was the Scala family who converted it into one of the most important kingdoms of its time. It took in most of the Veneto, as well as the large regions of Emilia and Tuscany and was dotted with magnificent buildings and stunning works of art.
In 1405, Verona joined to the Venetian Republic. In 1796, it was occupied for six months by Napoleonic troops. By 1801, the French and the Austrians had successfully divided Verona, and it was annexed by the Hapsburg Empire in 1814.
Over the nineteenth century, Verona assumed an important administrative and military role. The city's defenses were reorganized and reinforced: Verona became the principle stronghold of the "Quadrilateral" (the other three being Mantua, Peschiera and Legnano) which became the pivotal point of the Lombardy-Veneto defense structure during the War of Independence. The province of Verona officially became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1866.
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