You've never been the type of person who plans a vacation based on the usual tours and main itineraries. You want to see the hidden treasures of the city you're visiting , take alternative itineraries, discover lesser-known historic buildings , and find medieval shops to evoke the epic tales of a time long gone.
If this is your type of vacation, then you've come to the right place. Here we'll explore Verona's hidden treasures , discover the stories of lesser-known historic buildings, and hunt for medieval shops. Because Verona isn't just the Arena , Romeo and Juliet's balcony and popular monuments. Verona is also:
- The Giusti Garden;
- The statues of the monumental cemetery;
- Veronetta;
- The chapter library.
For an experience that makes you feel even more like a local , stay in a short-term rental apartment , a home all to yourself where you can cook produce purchased at the market, explore the city's residential areas, and experience a slow vacation, savoring every single moment in the city.
The Giusti Garden: much more than a park
Verona's most interesting hidden gem is undoubtedly the Giusti Garden, where you can enjoy a moment of peace and quiet away from the hustle and bustle of tourists. Here, across the Adige River and in the heart of Veronetta, lies a Renaissance garden created in the 1400s by Provolo Giusti when his family moved from Tuscany to work in the wool dyeing business.
However, it was with the arrival of Agostino Giusti, Knight of the Venetian Republic and Gentleman of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, who, with his love of art and music, began work on the construction of a green area in the Medici style. Inside the Giusti garden, you can walk amidst the greenery, encounter statues, pergolas, meticulously maintained flowerbeds, and stumble upon one of the oldest labyrinths in Europe .
A true paradise where you can lose yourself among the cypress-lined avenues and scenic overlooks, trees, and Renaissance statues that have something of a fairytale about them. Here, you can retrace the steps of Goethe, as well as Cosimo III, Mozart, Ruskin, Tsar Alexander of Russia, and many other famous historical figures who enjoyed the peace and beauty of this dream garden.
To conclude this visit, you can enter Apartment 900 and tour the Giusti family palace, filled with settings designed to amaze and evoke the beauty of nature through furnishings and architecture inspired by plants and shrubs. It will be like losing yourself in a fairytale.
The Chapter Library
If you're in the mood for lesser-known historic buildings, then you can't miss Verona's Biblioteca Capitolare , the oldest functioning library in the world. So enter in silence and admire the place where Charlemagne's son studied, as well as Dante and Petrarch.
The library is simply a hidden gem of enduring charm: having survived many centuries and bombs, it today houses manuscripts and more than 70,000 volumes, along with printing presses, works of art, and ancient musical instruments.
The monumental cemetery
Cemeteries have always been fascinating places: they have inspired writers and are part of many of our collective imaginations. Therefore, you absolutely must not miss this open-air museum, filled with elaborate and poignant statues. Built in the 19th century, Verona's cemetery is the final resting place of the great writer Emilio Salgari, along with many other illustrious figures of the 20th century.
Here you must walk in strict silence and admire the art housed in this spacious space, open to all. You can also book a free guided tour. Here you'll see how the family's financial resources could make the difference between a simple gravestone and a monument that is a true work of art.
Shopping in medieval shops
One of the fundamental pieces of Verona's historical heritage is represented by the Medieval Workshops, the historic shops that are part of the urban fabric and which stand out for their historical , architectural, but also artistic and cultural value.
A visit to Verona can't end without stopping by the grocery store, café, pharmacy, and cutlery shop: Verona's historic shops number 270 in total, marked by plaques issued by the city to mark the presence of a historic establishment and to preserve the work of these establishments. In these shops, trades are passed down from father to son, with craftsmanship taking center stage. Now you have one more reason—270 reasons, in fact—to lose yourself in Verona's alleyways.
Sleeping in Verona: alternative solutions
For an unusual vacation, unlike any other, and a chance to discover hidden treasures and medieval shops, you need an alternative stay, something unique, that allows you to experience Verona in an intense, authentic, and slow way.
The solution is to stay in one of our apartments in the heart of Verona , with all the necessary comforts but also with a piece of the city's history: perhaps an apartment in a historic building, an attic in Veronetta; in short, you can sleep in a corner of Verona with a history, a lived experience, but ready to accommodate your desire for a hidden Verona.
