Verona lies in a rich valley in the Veneto Region of Italy. It's halfway between Venice, which is one hour to the East, and Milan, which is one hour to the West.

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Surrounding this old Roman city is the Valpolicella wine region on one side, the Soave region on the other, and the Bardolino on the third. The great mountains of the Dolomite complete this city's stunning location.

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Lake Garda, the largest lake in Italy is about 20 minutes away and is surrounded by small, picturesque villages that can be traveled to by car or by ferry.

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The City of Fresno partnered with the City of Verona in November 2000. Verona is a magnificent old Roman city on the Adige River with around 275,000 inhabitants.  It sits about halfway between Milan and Venice and one of its main tourist attractions is its annual outdoor opera venue held in its 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheater.  All the famous opera stars have sung before huge crowds and it continues to draw opera lovers from around the world every June through August. (Plàcido Domingo will perform on July 21, 2017.)  It is because of this partnership that contact was made for Andrea Bocelli to sing in Fresno in 2007 and again in 2010.

One of Shakespeare’s plays, “Romeo & Juliet' was set in Verona, and Juliet’s balcony is visited by hundreds of tourists every day.  It’s considered good luck to rub the breast of her bronze statue. The lovelorn leave their letters, asking Juliet to intercede on their behalf.  Each letter is answered by a volunteer group of Verona women ...and so the tradition continues…