Piazza Bra, often shortened to Bra, is the largest

piazza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, with some claims that it is the largest in the country.Parks, Tim
Verona: Take the pulse in the piazza
''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

''. 5 January 2008. Accessed 28 September 2011. The piazza is lined with numerous cafés and restaurants, along with several notable buildings. The

Verona Arena The Verona Arena ( it, Arena di Verona ) is a Roman amphitheatre in Piazza Bra in Verona, Italy built in 30 AD. It is still in use today and is internationally famous for the large-scale opera performances given there. It is one of the best ...

, an

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

built nearly 2000 years ago, is now a world-famous music venue with regular

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

tic and contemporary music performances. Verona's town hall, the Palazzo Barbieri, also looks out across the piazza.

Architecture

A garden within Bra is shaded by cedar and pine trees. It surrounds the ''fountain of the Alps'' and a bronze statue of

Victor Emmanuel II Victor Emmanuel II ( it, Vittorio Emanuele II; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia from 1849 until 17 March 1861, when he assumed the title o ...

.Bonechi, Casa Editrice. ''Verona''. . pp. 10–16. This monument to the first

king of Italy King of Italy ( it, links=no, Re d'Italia; la, links=no, Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian military leader ...

, in which he is sat atop a horse, was inaugurated on 9 January 1883, five years to the day after his death. There are many significant buildings within and around Bra, with construction taking place over many centuries.

Verona Arena

The building itself was built in the first century AD on a site then beyond the city walls. The ''

ludi ''Ludi'' (Latin plural) were public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people (''populus Romanus''). ''Ludi'' were held in conjunction with, or sometimes as the major feature of, Roman religious festivals, and were also ...

'' (shows and games) staged there were so famous that spectators came from many other places, often far away, to witness them. While it can now host crowds of up to 22,000, the original amphitheatre could seat 30,000 spectators. The arena has been used by many contemporary performers including Pink Floyd, Rod Stewart, Elton John, and

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

. It has also hosted numerous operas, including in 1946

Ponchielli Amilcare Ponchielli (, ; 31 August 1834 – 16 January 1886) was an Italian opera composer, best known for his opera ''La Gioconda''. He was married to the soprano Teresina Brambilla. Life and work Born in Paderno Fasolaro (now Paderno Ponchiel ...

's '' La Gioconda'' which saw the debut of Maria Callas.

Gran Guardia

Palazzo della , was the first building erected on the southern edge of Bra. It was originally designed by Domenico Curtoni as a roof built from the existing wall out to several pillars.

Leonardo Donato Leonardo Donà, or Donato (Venice, February 12, 1536 – Venice, July 16, 1612) was the 90th Doge of Venice, reigning from January 10, 1606 until his death. His reign is chiefly remembered for Venice's dispute with the papacy, which resulted in ...

, 90th

Doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ; vec, Doxe de Venexia ; it, Doge di Venezia ; all derived from Latin ', "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian '), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice between 726 ...

, had requested an area for troops to shelter in poor weather. Work commenced in 1610 but stopped when there was a shortfall in available funds. Nearly 200 years later, in 1808, architect Giuseppe Barbieri was commissioned to design and complete the project but it was a further 45 years before it was finished. The building is now used as a venue for conferences, meetings, and exhibitions.2011 (in Italian
Palazzo della Gran Guardia
Mostre a Verona (Exhibitions in Verona). Accessed 30 September 2011.

Palazzo Barbieri

Palazzo Barbieri is Verona's town hall. Originally named ''Palazzo della Gran Guardia Nuova'', it was designed by Giuseppe Barbieri and was later named in his honour. Construction began in 1836 and was completed by 1848.

References

{{Coord, 45, 26, 20, N, 10, 59, 34, E, display=title Piazzas in Verona