Piazza delle Erbe

Piazza delle Erbe occupies the ground plan of Verona's Roman forum and has remained central to the city's political, economic and commercial life. Roman, Scaliger, Venetian and Baroque monuments frame its historic market square.

Why it matters

Verona's municipal tourism portal identifies the square with the layout of the ancient Roman forum, at the crossing of the city's two main Roman streets. It remained the centre of political and economic life for centuries. The provincial tourism portal calls it Verona's oldest square. UNESCO identifies Piazza delle Erbe and the adjacent Piazza dei Signori as the heart of the historic city, whose development has continued over more than two thousand years.

What to notice

The Berlina, a marble canopy dating to the twelfth century, was used for the podestà's oath-taking; old Veronese measures are carved into its steps and pillars. The Fountain of Madonna Verona was commissioned in 1368 by Cansignorio della Scala and incorporates a first-century Roman statue. A market column raised in 1401 under Gian Galeazzo Visconti retains its Gothic aedicula; the 1523 column of San Marco bears a lion recarved in 1886. Palazzo Maffei, built in 1668, has statues of pagan deities along its roofline. The Case dei Mazzanti preserve frescoes by Alberto Cavalli. The Domus Mercatorum, rebuilt in 1301, served as a merchants' hall, while the Torre del Gardello, built in 1370, houses Verona's oldest bell clock. The Arco della Costa, leading toward Piazza dei Signori, has a whale rib suspended in its vault.

Context and history

Verona became a Roman municipium in the first century BCE, and its forum occupied this site at the meeting of the cardo and decumanus. The name Piazza delle Erbe, referring to produce, is recorded from the fourteenth century. The Scaliger period added the trading hall and towers; Venetian rule added the column of Saint Mark and government buildings; Palazzo Maffei dates from the seventeenth century. The central paving strip, known as the toloneo, remains associated with the market stalls set among the square's monuments.