Verona and the Prosecco Hills
Romeo, Romeo, where forth art thou?
Beautiful Verona with its stunning arena which is older than the colosseum in Rome.
We found Verona to be a beautiful, historical and walkable city. At approximately 200,000 residents it is the perfect size and not crowded like Florence, Venice, or Rome.
We shot this picture from our hotel’s rooftop terrace at sunset one evening.
Verona’s shopping district was steps from our hotel and rivals Milan.
Stacy immediately began searching for a new dress for the 41st anniversary dinner.
Terry, on the other hand, was searching for a cork large enough for his 6 liter magnum. Stacy reminded him of his motto, corks are for quitters.
The Adige river flows through Verona. You can enjoy their charming bridges, including their own Castelvecchio bridge, while sampling local wines like Soave, a dry Italian white wine.
Verona is known for Valpolicella wine. The finest expression of this wine is the Amarone, which we learned to appreciate. It is one of the more unique wines we have ever tasted. The grapes are picked and then dried for 4 months before being made into wine with a 17% alcohol content. It is not a sweet wine, but rather bold, dry red wine with a velvety finish. Salute!
We toured Garbole and Quintarelli, two of the premier producers of Valpolicella wines. Garbole was our favorite, and we tasted in the family home with Filippo, one of the founders.
Quintarelli is an historic winery and produces iconic Valpolicella wines and is credited with developing the Valpolicella wines. The face of some of their wine barrels are beautifully engraved with stories that signify their history and family values. This barrel symbolizes Guiseppe’s wife and their four children.
The church of Saint Anastasia was breathtaking, and particularly meaningful to Stacy, as her parents used to lovingly refer to her as Anastasia Renee.
We spent a few days exploring the Prosecco Hills, a UNESCO site, with the goal of learning more about this refreshing sparkling wine.
Our journey began with Nino Franco winery, and to our surprise, Nino personally conducted our tasting and shared his story and role in transforming Prosecco into a quality, world class region. The Prosecco Superiore that we tasted was incredible and so different from most of the DOC prosecco sold by the truckload in the U.S.
The Prosecco Superiore region is made up of Rive, which are the incredibly steep hills that the Glera grapes grow within. Each has a unique terroir. Rive Prosecco Superiore represents the highest quality single vineyard DOCG Prosecco. Farming here is only possible by hand because no machines can traverse these steep slopes.
Most of our tasting was in Valdobbiadene region and within the Cartizze triangle where the grand cru of Prosecco is produced.
15 years ago, we fell in love with Italy’s Prosecco, and 40 years ago we pledged our love to each other.
One of the most remarkable experiences we had was visiting the Shrine of the Madonna Della Corona. The Sanctuary is located in Spiazzi in one of the most picturesque locations in northern Italy. It clings to the rock of the mountains that surround it, at ½ of a mile above sea level, overlooking the valley of the Adige river.
Medieval documents testify that hermits linked to the Abbey of St Zeno in Verona lived in Spiazzi already around the year 1000. From the 13th century there was a monastery with a chapel dedicated to St Mary of Montebaldo in this place. They arrived to this monastery on a dangerous narrow path in the rock.
Today, you safely arrive by a walking path that includes 14 bronze cast stations of the cross. This one was particularly striking with the shroud of Turin on the cloth Mary Magdalene is holding. A replica of the actual shroud exists in the Shrine.
Within the shrine is a fourteenth century painting of the Our Lady and the Child Jesus.
This Pietà in the Shrine dates to 1432, older than Michelangelo’s version.
This shrine is ideal for those who want to combine moments of prayer and inner peace. Many miracles are attributed to this holy place.
Mass is celebrated daily and we were able to enjoy the sounds of prayer for over an hour as we viewed this minor Basilica from various vantage points.
Our final night in Italy included an iconic experience — attending La Traviata performed in Verona’s Arena. The Arena opened in 30 AD, but the city keeps it alive by hosting opera and other performances within its walls.
The sheer scale of the stage and the intricate and elaborate set designs which changed throughout the show were remarkable. Stacy was excited to see that they had created an enormous elephant for this set.
The cast numbered in the hundreds and the costumes were stunning! The pageantry was beyond expectation.
The talented opera stars voices filled the Arena with magical stories of love, loss and sacrifice. We have never experienced anything like this type of performance before. Bravo!
After nearly a month in Italy, our hearts are full of love and appreciation for the opportunity we have had to build a life together over the last 40 years of marriage. We return home with cherished memories of our time in this beautiful country.
