Teresa and I visited Verona in 2021, in late November, but they didn’t have the Christmas Markets that year due to COVID, so we wanted to return. The Christmas Market did not disappoint! There’s been some internal debate about which was our favorite market, with both Verona and Salzburg getting votes—I can’t decide between the two, as I liked them both for different reasons, so for me it’s a tie!
Teresa and I got up before the kids, so went to breakfast down the street from our VRBO at Café Carducci, which was wonderful! The pastries were fresh and delicious, as was the ham and cheese omelette. The orange juice was fresh squeezed, and the caffè latte was perfect. The interior of the café was charming, especially the back room with the open kitchen.
Once the kids were awake, we all walked to the Museo Archeologico al Teatro Romano (Roman theater ruins and museum), with plenty of fun sights along the way. Teresa and I visited the ruins in 2021, so I only took a handful of photos this time. See our post from 2021 for more extensive photos of the Museo Archeologico al Teatro Romano.
Controversial Lunch
This portion of the program is entirely from the point of view of me, Tony, as the others don’t necessarily agree. So be it. This is my story: I picked a small osteria for lunch, after digging through many reviews. I was overruled, because “There’s one right here! It has pizza!” (The one I picked, dear reader, was a mere 4 minute walk.)
The kids’ first pizza in Italy was decidedly mediocre, per me (who makes pizza and has eaten very good pizza all over Italy). The toppings were fine, but the crust was another story—very little rise resulting in a tiny cornicione (non-existent in some parts). The crust was crunchy with no chew to be found. I was not happy. (Ask Teresa and the kids—this affected me for hours!) The kids swore up and down that it was “good”, and they were happy…but I know they had a very mediocre pizza, and it happened on my watch (although not entirely my fault). I should have insisted on the original spot, even if it meant a few sour faces during the grueling 4 minute hike. Lesson learned.
Gelato Makes Everything Better – and a Tower With a View
After a short nap, we went out for some gelato, which was excellent! We went to Jurri/L’arte del Gelato, and it (mostly) made up for the so-so pizza from earlier. I had the Gianduia Croccante (Crunchy Gianduia), which was delicious. The gelato shop was across from Porta Leoni, the ruins of an old Roman gate, so we enjoyed our gelato while peering down into the ruins.
What is gianduia (also spelled gianduja)? It’s an Italian chocolate with 30-50% hazelnut paste, invented in Turin during Napoleon’s regency (1796–1814). Before you go thinking “it’s just Nutella by a different name” – no. Nutella (created in the same region as gianduia) is mass produced, made to be more shelf stable, only contains 14% hazelnut, and has far more additives and ingredients. Gianduia contains only sugar, chocolate, and hazelnut butter. It’s denser than Nutella. Nutella was inspired by gianduja, and was originally called “Pasta Gianduja”
Torre dei Lamberti
After our gelato, we walked to Piazza delle Erbe and went to the top of Lamberti Tower (Toree dei Lamberti) for amazing sunset views. The piazza was very festive, and we explored the immediate area after our climb. (See the photo dump below for the great views from the tower!)
Very near Piazza delle Erbe we stumbled upon some interesting structures that turned out to be tombs for the Scalinger family, who ruled Verona from the 13th to the late 14th centuries. The tombs are gothic.
After the tower, it was time for the main event: the Christmas Market in Piazza Bra (and the Roman Arena, which is in the same piazza).
Arena/Christmas Market in Piazza Bra
Zach, Allison, and I all went into the Arena, while Teresa got a head start on the Christmas Market. The view of the market from atop the Arena was nice. (Again, there will only be a few photos of the Arena, since I took a ton of photos last time.)
One thing that was different this time was the Comet Star that is installed every year (except 2023) for Christmas. In January 2023, there was an accident while dismantling the Comet Star, and part of it fell, damaging the tail as well as some of the Arena steps. There was a temporary installation in November/December 2023, then the refurbished star was replaced in 2024 (and beyond), but without the tail.
Here are photos of the Comet Star from our trip in 2021 and one from this year:
Christmas Market
The Christmas Market was really big, and had a ton of food stalls (mostly sweets, but some delicious smelling cooked meats as well). As mentioned in a previous post, Verona and Nuremberg are sister cities, and Nuremberg sends a delegation to Verona every year to help out with the Christmas Market. The Verona market is a blend of Italian and German (even the mugs are bi-lingual!)
We all loved the Verona market. It wan’t as crowded as Vienna, was a bit more spread out than Salzburg, and the smells were amazing throughout.
This vendor, selling sausages (wurstel), mincemeat “meat balls” (hackfleisch-steak “polpetta”), potatoes, and sauerkraut, smelled amazing. If we didn’t already have dinner plans, this is definitely what I would have had.
Dinner at Ostregheteria Sottoriva 23
After the market we went to dinner at Ostregheteria Sottoriva 23, which serves traditional food from the region (including horse and donkey!) I had the guancette di maiale brasate in salsa all’Amarone (braised pork cheeks in Amarone wine sauce) over polenta, and it was amazing! Amarone is a local wine variety, and is often used in risotto as well as various braises. We shared a bottle of Amarone with our meal. It was a wonderful final dinner with the kids, who will head to Milan tomorrow then fly back the following morning (very early, which is why they headed to Milan a day early). Teresa and I will continue on to Rome for 6 nights.
Photo Dumps
Arena and Market Photos
Views from Torre dei Lamberti
And the Rest…
The reason we picked the lunch spot is a bit more complex. I looked at reviews and they were good–4.5 stars. The board outside showed they had tiramisu and Allison wanted that for dessert. The entrance was charming and inviting, and yes we were footsore, but our faces were not sour. Had to chime in!