Verona: A dog walk and a Medieval castle

Sunday morning we headed out early to grab a caffe and then head over to the park with Ollie and Mary. This park was huge and there was so much open space! Ollie was a little grumpy but thats ok!


The old medieval walls of Verona run through this park. In fact, it is possible to walk almost all around the city by walking around the walls! It is really neat! One more reason to love Verona.



On our way back to Lawren and Steve's we passed through the imposing medieval castle, Castelvecchio, a 14th century castle. It stands on the banks of the Adige River.

The castle was built between 1354 and 1356 by the orders of Cangrande II della Scala. The design of the castle was conceived by the della Scala family as a defense against both outside invasion and popular rebellion. The "plan" of the castle allowed for easy and safe escape in case of attack.


In 1404 when Verona became part of the Venetian empire, the castle was used for mainly military purposes. In the days of the anti-French revolt known as the "Pasque Veronesi" (circa 1797), the castle was the site of numerous armed engagements. Only after 1923 did the castle cease to serve an exclusively military purpose.



A view of the Adige river through the opening in the castle wall....


This "path" takes you through the center of the castle.


The castle was heavily damaged during WWII and restored in the 1960s by Carlo Scarpa. Today it houses a museum and it's inner courtyard is filled with sculptures.




Now it was time to head to Venezia. Check out our day in Venice here!