I have lived in Verona for almost 10 years and for most of the time I have had the pleasure of residing in this city, I have been fortunate to find housing in a certain area called " Valverde." A neighborhood ( misnomer as it is a street ) just outside the restricted traffic zone of the historic center of the Scaliger province.
I still remember my first home at No. 23 Via Amatore Sciesa, accommodation rented as soon as I arrived in the city at the tender age of 19 ( moreover through the real estate agency for which I currently work). It was the first and only house I saw, a Bilocalotto with a terrace overlooking the roofs of the houses...caught up in the eagerness of youth and the excitement of moving out on my own I visited it on Monday to pick it up on Friday of the same week.
Who would have thought that apartment, with its rickety wooden floors, kitchen falling apart and shower curtain, would be my home for the next 7 years?
Of course, I didn't know the neighborhood. A big boy from Jesolo who had just finished high school, after five years in Padua, barely knew that Verona had the Arena and Juliet's balcony....
I did not pay much attention to the area, because at the time I did not consider it a determining factor in choosing a house. Fortunately, I had hit the jackpot.
The Valverde neighborhood is a very convenient area of the city. Easy to access, for those coming from outside, it offers a fair amount of parking and in a few minutes you can get to the historic center. What many people do not know, or underestimate, is that within the neighborhood a micro-habitat has been created, a kind of neighborhood within a neighborhood, of which I have always been a part ( until October 2016 ) without realizing it.
This autonomous system was created around a street, Via Guglielmo Marconi, 400 m of one-way street, which connects the pulsing economic center of Verona ( the surroundings of the Arena square ) with the major arteries leading out of the city.
A side street for many, in some sections narrow and with no particular frills. There are no flowerbeds, no trees, no widening to allow for stops with vehicles ... often people if they have to run an errand or unload something, they drive their cars up on the sidewalk so as not to obstruct traffic - to the extreme joy of pedestrians -
An anonymous street you will say, like many other streets in any small town like Verona.
But no.
The strength of this street lies precisely in its residents. Despite the fact that the location is not the most commercial or "rich" with emblazoned or big name brands, the area's manufacturing businesses are some of the longest-lived that can be found on the market.
Of course turnover also exists here, of some stores, but the spirit of community and aggregation seems to remain attached to the walls of the stores more than to their occupants...
this spirit culminates in the birth of the association "United for Marconi Street"
The board of the association "united for Marconi Street"
Photo from the public page "via Marconi in Festa"
A committee made up of the street's shopkeepers themselves undertakes, several times a year, to organize events and demonstrations for the citizenry. Prominent among them is "via Marconi in festa," an evening sponsored by the city of Verona, which is repeated every year, in which the street is closed to traffic and the shopkeepers "invade" the roadway with their products, services, dancing and singing.
The gathering occasion is enjoyed not only by the residents of the street, but draws the entire citizenry, who are involved with jugglers, musical bands playing live, and markets with handicrafts. The warm weather also allows bar and restaurant owners to be able to serve their drinks and food on the street, creating the effect of a large table.
What is striking about this event, in addition to the showmanship of some of the entertainers, is the willingness-and passion-that a group of people employ, to create moments of conviviality, reunion and light-heartedness for the entire citizenry.
In 2016, caught up in "Vlog-pathy" I made this video in which I recounted my experience in the evening:
This year I decided to supplement the video with my own account of this initiative, which, in my opinion, fully reflects the spirit of unity and conviviality proper to the Italian people.
Even though the weather threatened until the last minute to spoil the party ( at 4:30 p.m. there was a hailstorm in town ) people did not lose the desire to get out on the streets and be with each other. Probably some people stayed home for fear of more bad weather, but all in all I recorded a good turnout.
Unfortunately, this year I was not able to stay late ( due to baby with sleepiness ) but for what I was able to see, the event went great!!!
I wanted to take some epic photos, but I realized that my basic knowledge of photography does not allow me to take decent photos in the dark, so I offer some shots ( the least worst let's say)
here's the gallery:
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Moral of the story if you are from Verona and do not know these realities, you have not really lived Verona!!!
