Arco dei Gavi

Like many other monuments and sculptures, the roman Gavi Arch is ruined by graffiti. Is this uncivil habit popular in your country or is it only one of the many italian bad things for which my country is renowned for? Uhm... I am being nasty today...

Roman road

Roman road, circa I AD. This bit of roman road lies under the Arco dei Gavi. You can touch this smooth dark pavement where the cart wheels left a deep mark, over the centuries (I have always wondered, though, if it was the continuous use that produced the mark or if, instead, it was purposedly carved to obtain a sort of rail. Anyone knows better?).

This few meters of black stones are nonetheless a tiny bit of the great Postumia Road...(read more)

Bikes at Arco dei Gavi

I recently started a "bicycles series" and this is my second entry. 

Behind this lovely red bike you can see the Arco dei Gavi and a part of Castelvecchio that hosts the art museum. 

The Arco dei Gavi was built in the 1st century AD in honour of the Gavi family, very important members of the Veronese roman society. It was built about a hundred meters to the left (the roman Via Postumia, now Corso Castelvecchio) and demolished by the French rule in 1805 when Napoleone ordered that the arch be moved because it constituted an obstacle for the french army to pass. The white limestone blocks were moved away and left over until 1932 when it was rebuilt here.

Whenever I get close to the Arch and see the complexity of the structure I think of how hard it must have been to rebuild it...