Villafranca di Verona is a town and '' comune'' in the

province of Verona The Province of Verona ( it, Provincia di Verona) is a province in the Veneto administrative region of Italy. On its northwestern border, Lake GardaItaly's largestis divided between Verona and the provinces of Brescia (Lombardy region) and Trenti ...

in the Veneto, Northern Italy.

History

The position on the ancient via Postumia and the perpendicular intersection structure of its roads suggests that the city had Roman origins. In the Middle Ages, in occasion of the foundation of the Rectors' Council of Verona, on March 9, 1185, it received the privilege of a tax free town, from which derived the name of ''villa franca''. It was the site of the signature of the Treaty of Villafranca, between Napoleon III and the Austrian army, which concluded the Second Italian Independence War. Nearby was the site of the Battle of Custoza, during the Third War of Italian Independence.

Main sights

*Castle, built from 1199. One of its towers has stones coming from an arch entitled to the Roman emperor Tiberius. The castle was destroyed several times, but was rebuilt by the Republic of Venice, until it was abandoned in 1450. *Church of Disciplina or of Visitazione (15th century). Donated by the Count Giorgio Maffei in 1499 to the Confraternity of Disciplinati, it has a Baroque façade and houses the "Mortorio", recently restored, a group of 9 wooden statues showing Jesus Christ, Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimatea, Mary, Mary of Cleofa, Mary Betania, Mary Magdalene and the former owner of the Church. *San Rocco Church (15th century). It houses frescoes from the school of Domenico Morone. *Church of San Giovanni della Paglia (15th century), built for the

Knights of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

. Today it is a private church. *Cathedral (17th century), dedicated to Sts. Peter and Paul. *Serraglio (14th century), a defensive wall built by the Scaliger to protect the south eastern side of the territory, now in ruins. Started by

Mastino II Mastino II della Scala (1308 – 3 June 1351) was lord of Verona. He was a member of the famous Scaliger family of Northern Italy. He was the son of Alboino I della Scala and Beatrice da Correggio. At the death of Cangrande I, he and his brothe ...

in 1345 and completed by

Cangrande II Cangrande II della Scala (7 June 1332Gian Maria Varaninidella Scala, Cangrande ''DBI'', Volume XXXVII (1989), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana Treccani – 14 December 1359) was Lord of Verona from 1351 until his death. In 1351, after the ...

in 1355, it was 13 kilometers long, with defensive towers, and followed the course of the river Tione. *Bottagisio Palace, location of the Peace Treaty signing

Economy

Villafranca has an important commercial tradition: every Wednesday morning in the city center there is an important market. Agriculture is specialized in fruit, and as a consequence of this, Villafranca owns an important trade market for peaches. As for gastronomy, typical of this town are ''taiadele coi fegadini'' (tagliatelle in broth with liver of chicken), and ''sfogliatine'', fragrant doughnuts prepared by many pastries in the town. Verona Airport "Valerio Catullo" is located in Villafranca di Verona. Verona Airport and Brescia Airport "Gabriele D'Annunzio" constitute the "Garda's Airport System." Air Dolomiti, a regional airline and

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...

subsidiary, maintains its head office in Dossobuono, Villafranca di Verona. At one time the airline's registered office was in Dossobuono, Villafranca di Verona, while the airline's executive headquarters were in Ronchi dei Legionari.Office addresses
" Air Dolomiti. 7 March 2008. Retrieved on 21 December 2010. "Registered Headquarters: AIR DOLOMITI S.p.A. Linee Aeree Regionali Europee Via Paolo Bembo, 70 37062 Dossobuono di Villafranca (VR) - Italy" "Executive Headquarters: AIR DOLOMITI S.p.A. Linee Aeree Regionali Europee Via Senatore Antonio Tambarin, 34 34077 Ronchi dei Legionari (GO) - Italy"

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villafranca Di Verona