In my blog posts about Verona, more often than not I have a photo or two (or four) of L’Arena and Piazza Bra.

We almost always also walk through another piazza in Verona, Piazza Erbe. But I don’t often stop to take a photo of it, unless there are special Christmas decorations or that kind of thing. Maybe because it’s so touristy these days. You see, historically Piazza Erbe was the site of the traditional fruit and vegetable market in town.  In fact, there is a Piazza Erbe in Bolzano that is still a traditional market, full of stalls to buy fruit and vegetables. Indeed, for those of you who have been reading my blogs for a while, you might recall that when we lived in Bolzano, I actually went to Piazza Erbe every morning to buy fresh fruit and vegetables.

Anyway, in Verona, a more traditional market was still in Piazza Erbe in 2002, when Chris and I first visited the city. But at some point, the market changed into a tourist market, and it is now filled with stalls that sell all types of touristy junk – er, souvenirs. They have also standardized the stalls themselves, which are topped with umbrellas, but more generic types than was traditionally the case.

The classic “postcard” shot photo of Piazza Erbe market is taken from above, from the vantage point at the top of the Lamberti bell tower, which sits on one site of the plaza. That’s not represented in the photos below, which provide a flavor of the street-level view.  It’s what we see as we cross through the plaza; take a right at the far end, and then a left at the end of that street, and you’ll get to our favorite restaurant in Verona. Which is probably where we were headed the day I took these photos. 😉