My crazy boys in front of the Arena:)
Experiencing an opera at the Arena di Verona is a must-do. The Arena is 2000 years old, and still in use! I know from our visit to Lake Garda that 166 Cathars were captured in Sirmione, taken to the Arena di Verona, and burned at the stake in 1276…I’m glad to experience a performance at the Arena for a happier occasion!! We were advised by our Italian host to buy our tickets months in advance, so we purchased tickets to see Verdi’s opera Aida.
Sets for the opera.
These photos were taken on our first day in Verona (Saturday).
Gulp!
Sneaking a photo of someone’s wedding!
Boys just wanna have fun…
There’s a park in the middle of the piazza.
An eight year old’s idea of a funny pose:)
We came back the next day (Sunday) to see the opera Aida. We came a little early to see more of this lovely city.
Castelvecchio Bridge
View from the bridge.
Castelvecchio Castle was built in the 14th century. It was both a residence and a fortress, including the brick bridge you see above.
Castelvecchio Castle is now a museum, apparently with a good art collection. We just peeked in.
The clock tower.
We continued wandering down the street, and came across this lovely little church.
Chiesa San Giovanni in Foro.
It was so quiet and peaceful…we were the only people there.
We continued to wander through the city. See more photos of Verona here:
https://globalnomadfamily.com/2013/07/20/verona-so-much-more-than-juliets-balcony/
At last it was time to go and claim our seats up in the nosebleed section of the arena.
We rented cushions for 3 euros apiece. Advice: bring your own cushions!
The performance started at 9:15pm.
Verdi’s 1871 opera…a love triangle set in ancient Egypt.
Aida is a captured Ethiopian princess who is in love with Radames.
Radames struggles to choose between his love for Aida and his duty as the Pharaoh’s celebrated military commander. The story gets even more complicated because the Pharaoh’s daughter loves Radames and is promised to marry him…but Radames loves Aida.
Let’s just say it has a tragic but spectacular ending!
Nate didn’t make it all the way through, but the rented cushions came in handy.
The performance ended around 12:30 am…we were surprised it finished so late. It was well worth it. Nate was a real trooper and walked sleepily back to our car. Another great day!
Stay tuned for posts about our day in Venice, staying in a beautiful restored farmhouse in the French countryside, and having an AMAZING day yesterday seeing Mont Blanc in the French Alps!
