Verona

a city of northern Italy. It is situated on both sides of the Adige where that swift stream emerges from the foothills of the Alps and enters the plain of Lombardy. Verona is about seventy miles west from Venice by rail. It is a modern city with electric railways and electric lights. There are many manufactures of woolens, silks, and hats, and a considerable trade with the surrounding country. Interest in Verona is chiefly historical. The city is still surrounded by a lofty wall defended by towers and bastions. This wall is pierced by five gates noted for their strength and beauty. There are half a hundred churches, including magnificent specimens of Gothic arehitecture and containing priceless paintings and other treasures. The cathedral was built before the discovery of America. There are numerous palaces and a fairly preserved amphitheater capable of seating 27,000 spectators. Verona was founded at an early date, and was occupied by the Romans 200 years before the birth of Christ. Theodoric, the Goth, made it his capital. In 774 Verona was captured by Charlemagne, and was an important city for a century or two. In his Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare pictures the distracted condition of the city under the rule of the nobles. In 1405 Verona became subject to Venice. In 1797 it was occupied by the Austrians, who held the city until it was incorporated in United Italy in 1866. The present population is about 75,000.

Verrazzano (1480-1527), an Italian navigator. He was born near Florence. He was educated in the oriental trade. The details of his life are not clear; but about 1505 he entered the service of France. He was employed as a privateer to capture Spanish ships. In 1523 he captured the treasure ship sent home by Cortez from Mexico to Charles V, a trick for which the Spaniards finally caught and hanged him. Verrazzano is credited with a voyage along the coast of North America, during which he discovered either the bay of New York or that of Narragansett, but the evidence of this voyage does not rest on a firm historical foundation.