Verona (ancient world)
Verona, located in what is now northern Italy, is an ancient city that has played a significant role throughout history. Situated along the river Adige, it served as a crucial trading hub on the Via Postumia, which connected various parts of Cisalpine Gaul. The city’s origins trace back to a mix of cultures, including the Raetians, the Italic Euganei, and possibly the Celts, suggesting a complex settlement history. Under Roman rule, which began around 148 BC, Verona flourished and gained the status of a 'colonia', granting Roman citizenship to local officials.
Throughout its history, Verona witnessed key events, including participation in the civil war of AD 69 and conflicts during the reigns of emperors such as Gallienus and Constantine I. The city also faced invasions by notable forces, including the Visigoths and Attila the Hun. Today, Verona’s rich architectural heritage includes well-preserved Roman monuments such as the Arena, a large amphitheater, and various city gates and walls, reflecting its importance during the Roman Empire. Additionally, significant Christian structures, like the basilica dedicated to San Zeno Maggiore, highlight the city's continued relevance in the religious landscape.
Subject Terms
Verona (ancient world)
A city in Gallia Cisalpina (north Italy), beside the river Athesis (Adige) on the route from the Brenner Pass to the south
The surrounding territory produced abundant wine. The Raetians, together with the Italic tribe of the Euganei, were described as the founders of Verona, and the existence in the region of a community named the Arusnates (possessing a cult of Cuslanus or Culsans) recalls the Etruscan family name Aruzinaie, and thus suggests that Etruscans played a part in the settlement. Celtic foundation by the Gallic tribe of the Cenomani was also claimed. Under Roman rule Verona was a prosperous trading town and station on the Via Postumia running from east to west across Cisalpine Gaul (148 BC).
It was the birthplace of the poet Catullus (c 87 BC), whose family was of some standing in the region. His description of the city as a `colonia’ refers to the Latin status (conferring Roman citizenship on local officials) that was enjoyed by the Transpadane area in 89 and only replaced by full Roman franchise in 49 (prior to incorporation in Italy seven years later). Verona played a leading part in the civil war of AD 69 between the supporters of Vitellius and Vespasian, when its fortifications were strengthened. In 249 the emperor Philip and his son were killed by the troops of their successor Trajanus Decius in a great battle outside the walls. During the sole reign of Gallienus (260–68) it was elevated to the rank of a Roman colony and incorporated into his new defensive system for the protection of Italy.
In the later empire, the city was part of the province or district of Venetia et Histria within the administrative diocese of Italia Annonaria. When Constantine I the Great invaded Italy in 312 to suppress Maxentius, the latter stationed a force at Verona, under the experienced Ruricius Pompeianus, in order to defend the Brenner Pass in case Licinius should decide to join his colleague Constantine in the invasion; but after a fierce battle Pompeianus was killed, and Verona capitulated to Constantine. In 403 the Visigothic army of Alaric delivered an attack, but was defeated by the emperor Honorius' general Stilicho, and evacuated Italy for a time. Verona suffered from the invasion of Attila the Hun in 452, and in 489 after the fall of the western empire, was the scene of the decisive victory of Theoderic the Ostrogoth over Odoacer the Herulian, followed by extensive reconstruction of its buildings.
The pre-Roman fortress was later linked with the town by a bridge, which is partly preserved. Well-preserved Roman monuments include a riverside theater, a huge and famous amphitheater (the Arena), partly of the first century AD—preserved because of a thirteenth-century endowment for its maintenance. Portions of the city walls, the base of a Capitolium, a basilica, the first century Arch of the Gavii (a leading local family), and two city gates (the Porta dei Leoni and Porta dei Borsari), have also survived. The Christian basilica of San Zeno Maggiore—the name of Verona's first important bishop—may go back to c 400; beneath it, an earlier church has recently been uncovered. The origins of the cruciform, aisleless church of Santo Stefano Maggiore go back to about 450, and the chapel of Saints Tosca and Teuteria beside the Church of the Holy Apostles seems to belong to the same century.