Description
Piazza Bra is the largest square in Verona and its living room: on one side the Arena, on the other elegant palaces and a long sidewalk where the Veronese have been strolling for more than two centuries. From here the streets lead to Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza dei Signori.
The name comes from "braida", from the Lombard breit, "wide": that is what the spaces left between the Roman and medieval walls were called. For centuries it was an open dirt expanse, where timber, hay, straw and livestock were sold, and where Venetian troops held their reviews.
Its present shape dates from the 18th century. In 1770 the podestà Alvise Mocenigo inaugurated the first stretch of the Liston, the wide paved sidewalk that runs along the palaces on the west side. From then on the Bra became the place for strolling, and a chronicler in 1837 was amazed by it.
Along the Liston stand palaces from different periods: the 15th-century Palazzo Guglienzi-Brognoligo with a fresco by Francesco Morone, the Palazzo degli Honorij by Michele Sanmicheli, from the mid-16th century, and the seat of the Società Letteraria, one of the oldest reading rooms in Italy.
To the south is the Gran Guardia, a portico of thirteen arches with fifteen large windows above. It was begun by the Venetians in 1610 so that troops could be reviewed under cover when it rained, then work stopped for lack of funds. It was finished by the Austrians only in 1853.
To the east is Palazzo Barbieri, designed by Giuseppe Barbieri in 1836 where a hospital and a few houses used to be. Born as an Austrian barracks, it has been the town hall since 1868. In the center, in 1873, the garden with three circular flower beds and a fountain was created.
Between the two arches of the Portoni della Bra, on the wall side, is a clock commissioned in 1871 by Count Antonio Nogarola and inaugurated in 1872. In the square stands also the equestrian monument to Victor Emmanuel II, inaugurated in 1883.
The Bra has its traditions too. Every year from December 11 to 13 people gather for the Santa Lucia fair, which has existed for many centuries. From 1633 two fifteen-day goods fairs were also held here every year.
Don't miss
• The Liston.
• The Portoni della Bra and their clock.
• The Gran Guardia.
• The Santa Lucia fair.
Did you know?
• The Santa Lucia fair comes from a tradition: to convince children to join a pilgrimage against an eye epidemic, they were promised shoes full of gifts on their return.
• The equestrian statue of Victor Emmanuel II was so heavy that a few months after the inauguration the pedestal had to be reinforced.
The name comes from "braida", from the Lombard breit, "wide": that is what the spaces left between the Roman and medieval walls were called. For centuries it was an open dirt expanse, where timber, hay, straw and livestock were sold, and where Venetian troops held their reviews.
Its present shape dates from the 18th century. In 1770 the podestà Alvise Mocenigo inaugurated the first stretch of the Liston, the wide paved sidewalk that runs along the palaces on the west side. From then on the Bra became the place for strolling, and a chronicler in 1837 was amazed by it.
Along the Liston stand palaces from different periods: the 15th-century Palazzo Guglienzi-Brognoligo with a fresco by Francesco Morone, the Palazzo degli Honorij by Michele Sanmicheli, from the mid-16th century, and the seat of the Società Letteraria, one of the oldest reading rooms in Italy.
To the south is the Gran Guardia, a portico of thirteen arches with fifteen large windows above. It was begun by the Venetians in 1610 so that troops could be reviewed under cover when it rained, then work stopped for lack of funds. It was finished by the Austrians only in 1853.
To the east is Palazzo Barbieri, designed by Giuseppe Barbieri in 1836 where a hospital and a few houses used to be. Born as an Austrian barracks, it has been the town hall since 1868. In the center, in 1873, the garden with three circular flower beds and a fountain was created.
Between the two arches of the Portoni della Bra, on the wall side, is a clock commissioned in 1871 by Count Antonio Nogarola and inaugurated in 1872. In the square stands also the equestrian monument to Victor Emmanuel II, inaugurated in 1883.
The Bra has its traditions too. Every year from December 11 to 13 people gather for the Santa Lucia fair, which has existed for many centuries. From 1633 two fifteen-day goods fairs were also held here every year.
Don't miss
• The Liston.
• The Portoni della Bra and their clock.
• The Gran Guardia.
• The Santa Lucia fair.
Did you know?
• The Santa Lucia fair comes from a tradition: to convince children to join a pilgrimage against an eye epidemic, they were promised shoes full of gifts on their return.
• The equestrian statue of Victor Emmanuel II was so heavy that a few months after the inauguration the pedestal had to be reinforced.