The Story of Verona

by Alethea Wiel

inundations of the river had damaged the fort, and the Veronese saw fit to repair it. The inhabitants of Mantua were annoyed that this frontier town should be put into a condition to resist their incursions, and they determined to molest the works, or if possible to prevent them altogether. This resolution annoyed the Veronese not a little. The Mantuans however persisted, and finally both parties resorted to arms. The Veronese were victors in the fight; but the Mantuans only prepared for further action, and resolved on being revenged. To guard against any surprises the Veronese set to work to erect a fort in an advanced and advantageous spot, and chose Villafranca for the purpose. The works were at once begun; in 1202 the castle was finished, and a good body of soldiers were placed in it to guard against any attack or invasion from the south. The walls and bastions are of remarkable solidity and thickness, and the fortress of Villafranca may certainly rank as one of the strongest and most imposing to be seen in Italy. The sole object of its erection was for defence, and it has fulfilled its purpose absolutely. Scenes of violence, of siege, and of fire have occurred within its walls, but no tales of love or romance, which for the most part lighten the story of many a gloomy massive pile, are forthcoming from the sombre stronghold of Villafranca. It was closely besieged in 1233 by Ezzelino da Romano, when several Guelph leaders from Verona and the neighbourhood defended it. The people of Mantua at that epoch supported the Guelph faction and took the part of Riccardo da Sambonifacio against the Ghibellines. To strengthen themselves against these incursions of the Mantuans, the people of Verona aided their Podestă Enrico d’Egna to add to the fortress of Villafranca, and a massive tower (such as is to be seen in well-nigh every mediæval fortress of importance) was built, together with a moat. The love of building possessed to such a remarkable degree by the Scaligers was brought into play by them at Villafranca; and Mastino II. wishing to protect himself still further against Mantua, began the erection of the great wall known as the “Serraglio,” and leading from Villafranca towards the enemy’s territory. The outbreak of a pestilence in Verona in 1349 (the very year in which the “Serraglio” was begun) stopped the work, which was finished under Cangrande II., the son and successor of Mastino II. This stupendous work, consisting of towers at stated intervals with ditches and moats behind which to shelter the peasants with their flocks and herds, brought Villafranca almost into touch with Valeggio (another castle soon to be mentioned) and acted as a mighty rampart between the territory belonging to Verona, and that owned by the lords of Mantua.

In 1404 the inhabitants of Mantua took refuge within the fortress of Villafranca to protect themselves against the forces of Galeazzo Gonzaga, who was determined to become lord of Mantua, and whose rule met with bitter opposition. The men of Mantua set fire to their houses and fled with their wives and children and chattels to the rock of Villafranca. Gonzaga irritated at this opposition resolved to quell it and assaulted the fort with violence. In vain he tried every artifice that strength and ingenuity could suggest. His forces were driven back at every point. He lost heavily, and retired at length after three days of uninterrupted attack to Vigasio, resolved to return with renewed forces and take vengeance on the bold defenders of their homes and hearths. Other sieges took place at Villafranca often and again in the course of the fifteenth century, but neither then nor in later times were its strongholds or towers destroyed by foe or fire, and it stands to this day a marvel of strength and resistance, its sternness softened by the nursery gardens kept within its courtyards where the grace and beauty of vegetable life contrast in soft and gentle harmony with the solidity and masonic craft of bygone ages.

At a distance of five miles from Villafranca is the castle of Valeggio on the banks of the Mincio. It was either built or rebuilt by Cangrande II. della Scala, and may very probably have been set up by that prince as the complement to the great wall of the “Serraglio” which was finished during his reign. It boasts a number of subterranean passages, vaults, and dungeons, and together with Borghetto, which stands on the opposite height, occupies an important military position, commanding the passage of the Mincio. The view from the castle terrace is not only grand, but full of interest and association for every lover of Italian history and of Italian independence. On one side is to be seen a stately old square tower, which stands above the memorable field of Solferino. On another side is the Tower of San Martino, and again to the West rises high in the distance the column that marks where the bones of the dead were laid to rest after the “day of pride and sorrow” of Custozza. Valeggio is celebrated too for the marvellous stone bridge constructed by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, duke of Milan at the close of the fourteenth century to strengthen himself against Francesco Gonzaga, lord of Mantua. To relate all the intrigues and quarrels which led to the erection of this bridge over the Mincio would be out of place here; suffice it to say that it was laid on a Roman substructure, and had high gateways with towers at each end, while the arches of the bridge spanned the river. Only one arch remains now, but the ruin shows what a colossal work it was, worthy even in its decay of the titles of “famous,” “gigantic,” “most noble,” and “magnificent” that have been lavished on it by different writers. The ulterior purpose of the bridge is yet a matter of discussion, and historians are still at variance as to whether Gian Galeazzo built the bridge with the intent to alter the course of the river, or to raise for himself a causeway into the Veronese territory.

History and tradition have alike little to say about Nogarole, beyond the fact that it was built by Mastino II. della Scala against the Mantuans. The old castle, situated at no great distance from Villafranca, no doubt derived its name at some time or other from the family of Nogarola, a family which figured so often and so honourably in the story of Verona, and of whom the last remaining member died only a few years ago.

Sanguinetto is one of the few castles under discussion that has no associations with the great house of the Scaligers beyond the fact that Bartolomeo and Antonio della Scala gave over the castle in 1376 to their general Jacopo del Verme. It has, in common with all the villages and towns in the province of Verona, many and evident traces of Roman life and habits. The castle was the scene of much fighting in the Middle Ages, and that it was used also as prison is clearly proved by the discovery made there some fifty years ago of a skeleton in armour which was found enclosed in the walls. The grand old castle was sadly damaged in 1800, and what has escaped the ravages of time and the destroying hand of man is now preserved with care by the municipality, and used for public offices.

It only remains now to speak of Sirmione, the most interesting perhaps after Soave, of the sites around Verona, and which the traveller should on no account omit to visit. The Peninsula of Sirmione on the Lake of Garda was famed in Roman times, and is a spot whose praises have been sung by bards in all ages and tongues. Covered with olive and bay trees it would seem to invite poets to inhabit its groves, and to chant of the soft balmy air that floats round its shores. Hills and gentle slopes alternate with the level swards on which villages and villas are dotted at intervals, bringing life and movement to the scene and imparting a spirit of animation to this otherwise secluded spot. In the days of the Romans it was prosperous and active. They surrounded it with walls and entered it on their maps as a strategical point, possessing besides a secure camp and a strong station. There were also many luxurious villas here inhabited by nobles of wealth and position, among them being the one owned by Catullus’s father, a man whose fortune allowed of his entertaining Julius Cæsar, and whose habitation at the northern extremity of the peninsula must have been splendid judging from the ruins which are pointed out to this day as those of the Grotto of Catullus.

One of the chief objects that catches the eye on alighting at the southern end is the castle of the Scaligers. Their heraldic badge of the ladder (scala) is on the door, and the manifestation of their might and power is alike visible in the great wall which surrounds the castle, and which fortifies it on the side sloping down to the lake as well as on the land side. A moat runs below this outer wall, and in front of the chief entrance are evidences of a drawbridge which must once have stood there. The entrance has two approaches, one by which carriages and wheeled vehicles could pass, the other for foot passengers. The actual plan of the castle is a quadrangle, but there are inner walls and courtyards of different heights and elevations, and towers at stated distances break up the effect of evenness presented to the eye, and result in a picturesque and formidable-looking citadel. The castle had three entrances, two by land, and one on to the lake, both those by land being approached by drawbridges. The interior of the castle was formed of two divisions, and the masonry of these courts is as perfect as it can be, and fit to be compared with the finest and best Roman work.

“Out upon Time! who for ever will leave
But enough of the Past for the Future to grieve!”