History of Verona
Verona, or Veronia, was a city of the Euganei, who were obliged to cede it to the Cenomani (550 B.C.). With the conquest of the Valley of the Po the Veronese territory became Roman (about 300 B.C.). Verona became a Roman colonia in 89 b.C., and then a municipium in 49 b.C.; Verona had the franchise in 59.

The city derived importance from being at the intersection of many roads. With the taking of Verona (489 a .D.) the Gothic domination of Italy began; Theodoric built his palace there, and in Germanic legend the name of Verona is linked with his. This city remained in the power of the Goths all through the Gothic war, with the exception of a single day in 541, when an Armenian officer effected an entrance. Dissensions which arose among the Byzantine generals in regard to booty enabled the Goths to regain possession. In 552 Valerian vainly endeavoured to gain an entrance, and only the complete overthrow of the Goths brought about its surrender.

In 569 it was taken by Alboin, King of the Lombards, in whose kingdom it was, in a sense, the second city in importance. There Alboin himself was killed by his own wife in 572.

The splendor of the city in those days, dominated by its forty-eight towers, is described in a Latin ode of which we shall speak later on. The increasing wealth of the burgher families eclipsed the power of the counts, and in 1100 we find Verona organised as a commune.

Guglielmo (1404), natural son of Can Grande II, was more fortunate; with the support of the people, he drove out the Milanese, but he died ten days after, and Verona then submitted to Venice (1405). The last representatives of the Scaligeri lived at the imperial court and repeatedly attempted to recover Verona by the aid of popular risings.

From 1490 to 1517 the city was in the power of the Emperor Maximilian I.

Verona was occupied by Napoleon in 1797, but on Easter Monday the populace rose and drove out the French.