Piazza delle Erbe

Visit if you:

• are fascinated by Roman and antique history still shaping a living street plan
• want painted façades — Casa Mazzanti carries the best surviving frescoes in the city
• like markets, and squares that are still used rather than preserved
• enjoy reading a city’s politics off its monuments

Skip it if you:

• want a quiet square — this is a working market and the busiest crossing in the old city
• are looking for one thing to see; the interest here is the accumulation, not any single monument

No ticket, no hours

The square is public space, free, and crossable at any hour. What has opening times is everything in it: the market stalls, the cafés, and the Torre dei Lamberti, which is entered from the courtyard behind rather than from the square.

Timing, which is the only real decision here

Early morning is when the architecture is legible — the façades are clear of stalls and awnings, and the frescoes on Casa Mazzanti catch the light from the east. Evening is when the square is at its most alive and least photographable. They are genuinely different visits and it is worth making both, since it costs nothing to walk through twice.

Avoid expecting a quiet look at midday in season: the centre fills with market traffic and the narrow pedestrian flow through to Piazza dei Signori becomes the busiest line in the old city.

Getting your bearings

The arch at the northern end, the Arco della Costa, leads through to Piazza dei Signori; the Torre dei Lamberti entrance is on that passage. Casa Mazzanti is the frescoed front on the long side, the Palazzo Maffei closes the north end, and the column with the Venetian lion stands between them.

Morning is when the market is working and the square is doing what it has always done. The stalls are largely aimed at visitors now, but the rhythm is real.

Early evening brings the passeggiata and the cafés fill; this is the pleasantest time to sit.

Spring and autumn are the comfortable seasons -- Verona is very hot in July and August, and the square has little shade.

Late afternoon light is best for the frescoes on Casa Mazzanti, which flatten out under midday sun.

The square is busiest in the middle of the day, when it sits on every walking route through the centre.