Verona - Surroundings

East of Verona is the little medieval town of Soave (40m/132ft; pop. 6,000), renowned for its battlemented town walls and towers and fine palaces.

An attractive excursion from Verona (north) is to the beautiful uplands of Monti Lessini and Giazza (758m/2,501ft), the only one of the "Tredici Comuni" (Thirteen Communes) inhabited by the descendants of settlers from Bavaria and Tirol, and where German is still spoken.

Southwest of Verona, on the River Tione, is Villafranca di Verona (54m/178ft; pop. 25,000), with a ruined castle, part of the "Serraglio", the frontier fortifications of Verona, which extend to Valeggio, 9km/5.5mi west. In 1859 an armistice agreement was made in Villafranca between France and Austria.

In Valeggio is the well-tended park of Sigurtà.